Reunion: A Guardian and a Betrayer
by Eighty6ed
Summary: A pair of stories told together. It follows Naruto and Sasuke at the age of 28, along with their roads to fame and infamy. Fated to meet again in both their past, and their present, what does it take to create a Guardian and a Betrayer?
1. Chapter 1 Return to Konoha

-1Thank you for stopping by to read my fanfic, The Return to Konoha. For starters, I am not Kishi and I don't own Naruto, so as amazing as the story may be, its still only my fiction. Disclaimer done? OK. The main story takes place 13 years in the future when Naruto and Sasuke are 28 years old. It follows Sasuke on his first attempt to return to Konoha 15 years after his desertion, and follows Naruto returning from a mission at the borders of the Fire Country. The story is also largely comprised of flashbacks that take place immediately after Chapter388 in the Naruto manga, so you have to be careful to deviate from the real story at this point in the timeline. OK, enjoy!

Chapter 1 - The return

_"I used to be something once. I used to be a great shinobi from Konoha. My life had a purpose back then. It was the purpose of revenge. What a wasted life it was. I knew my cause was righteous. My brother deserved to die and it was my destiny to be the one to take his life. It didn't matter what I did to get stronger, or who got hurt as a result. I fled from my home to pursue these ends. I sought power from my greatest enemy, as well as the enemy of my village. I didn't care what it meant to my friends or my comrades. I was righteous. What a child I was. What a foolish child." _

"Get out of the way beggar!" shouted a tall man pulling a cart. "Get movin or get off the road!"

"Oh. Sorry. I didn't see you there." Responded the homeless looking man. I was kind of lost in my own mind and didn't see or hear your approach. You see, I'm blind."

"What does it matter to me? You are in my way and I need to move these wares. Now, GET OUTTA THE ROAD YOU BUM!" the man shouted angrily.

"Heh, Id be careful of the way you spoke to me" Replied the seemingly homeless man. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke, and I would make you pay for your disrespect!"

"Oh yeah?" the tall man replied. "I think I've heard that name before. You see, Konoha is on my route. Actually, I was just headed there. I am pretty sure I remember hearing your name in conversation some years back, but that's impossible. They spoke of one of the greatest shinobi from the village. The last living descendant of the Uchiha clan. BAH! Surely you are not him. The Great Betrayer of the Leaf Village? You are trash, not a legend. Now move!" The man shouted as he began to pull his cart again, but was once again stopped when the beggar failed to move out of his path. "I said get out of the way trash before I have to move you myself!"

"I warned you about your disrespect." Said the beggar claiming to be Uchiha Sasuke. "Now I will teach you some respect." Sasuke turned around and pulled back the hood of his dirty cloak, revealing a bandage that ran across his face, covering the eyes. Sasuke sprung and launched a side kick for the tall man's side, only for his misjudged kick be caught by the large man.

"Psh. Uchiha Sasuke you are not." said the man. "That clan was known for its martial skill. You are a disgrace of a man, not a proud shinobi!" The man pulled Sasuke's foot closer and threw a punch that connected with Sasuke's face, knocking Sasuke to the ground. "Psh. Better find a new name trash." The man laughed as he pulled his cart past and continued down the road.

Sasuke rolled to recover from his fall, landing at the side of the road. As he pulled himself to his feet, he said to himself, "I used to be someone." as he continued down the road toward the place that he used to call home.

The once great shinobi from Konoha. The genius of his class, now 15 years after he deserted his home, reduced to a blind beggar that is lucky to find food and a dry place to sleep. Now 28 years old, he retains little of the skill that he once possessed. Nearly a decade ago, his mystical Sharingan eyes were taken from him. When he lost his eyesight, he realized that he had become so reliant on his Sharingan eyes to learn and utilize techniques, that when they were taken from him, he didn't even know how to use many of those techniques anymore. As it turned out, the techniques that he copied and learned with the Sharingan, required the Sharingan for Sasuke to perform them properly. With only a very basic list of techniques that he had learned when he was at the academy without the Sharingan, and a complete loss of sight, he was reduced to being a defenseless as a child. Even his other senses, had been impacted by his loss of the Sharingan so much that to this day, Sasuke can scarcely locate an opponent with any accuracy, much less engage in combat. Today, he has decided to try to seek forgiveness. He hopes that the one person that he finally realizes was his own friend, will take him in as the friends that they used to be. That person is Uzumaki Naruto.

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(scene changes to another road at the same time)

At the same time on another road walked another man. It was the Sixth Hokage of Konoha, Uzumaki Naruto. He was returning from a brief mission to drive a small army from the Fire Country.

"It almost makes me miss the good old days when the bad guys were actually something to be afraid of. Almost makes me wish Akatsuki was still around." He said with a smile to his student and son Uzumaki Kakashi. Sharing the same blond hair as his father, he was a spitting image of Naruto in his own childhood days minus the whisker-like scars on his cheeks. Of course, the other greatest difference between them, was the blank white eyes that he had gotten from his mother. He wore knee-length black shorts and a mesh short-sleeve shirt under his tailor-made dark red utility jacket. It was the same color as his father's. His mother made it special for him and even built in the inside hidden pockets where he keeps his candy and gum. Instead of the typical forehead protector headband, he had a plain dark red bandana with the Konoha Leaf on the front. As it turned out, little Kakashi couldn't stand the color orange. Even at the age of 2, when Naruto tried to dress him in an outfit like he wore when he was a kid, little Kakashi screamed until his outfit was changed. Now at the age of 7, he was the top Genin at the Ninja Academy, Even though considering his demeanor, it was hard to believe. He has the same carefree, funloving personality that his father had at his age, and pulling pranks and raising hell are already a specialty of his. Yet, beneath that seemingly dense and happy-go-lucky personality, was a genius without comparison. Already he has been recommended by his instructors to participate in the Chuunin exams, but at the behest of his mother, he has yet to attend. "If I was a strong as you are when I was your age, I could have saved myself and the village a lot of grief." Naruto followed with a smile.

"Ah, C'mon dad!" little Kakashi shouted back. "I'm nothing compared to you. I'm just a kid! Even just back there, all I could do was just sit back and help point out where those guys were hiding. You did all the work!" he said as he chewed on his trademark, massive wad of bubble gum.

"Oh Kakashi, you should never think like that." Naruto said as he stopped and crouched in front of his son. Naruto grabbed his shoulders and continued, "If I had thought like that when I was your age, I never would have become who I am. You are a lot more talented than I ever hoped to be at your age! You have such a natural talent that puts me to shame in so many ways. Kakashi, you are my son, and I will see that you get all the opportunities that I didn't as a child. You will be great some day. Maybe even Hokage like your dear old dad."

"Sure thing dad." little Kakashi replied with a smile. "I'll make you look bad old man."

"Hehe, You had better kiddo." Naruto stood back up, dusted off his jacket, and threw Kakashi upon his shoulders as they continued the long walk back to Konoha.

In fact, the man that is Naruto today is little like what he was when he was a kid. He still has the same old whiskers markings and those deep blue eyes that he was always known for. He wore his hair a little bit longer than he did as a child, but around his forehead protector, it puffed out in all directions. However, gone are the days of pulling pranks on the villagers and the Sexy Jutsu. Gone are the bright orange jumpsuits that he wore and the frog shaped coin pouch he carried. These days he wears a long white jacket that strongly resembles the white jacket worn by his own father Namikaze Minato. He wears the coat over his black knee-length pants, black long-sleeve shirt and dark red utility vest. All this covered the summoning tattoos that blanketed his arms. Those tattoos hide a legendary arsenal of special weapons, some of which are have never even been in the hands of any other person. With the same Konoha Leaf forehead protector proudly on display above his brow, this is the Hokage of Konoha. A life filled with intense challenges, tragic losses, and endless training and conditioning has created the man that walks this road today.

"Dad? Can I ask you something?" asked the blond haired child to his father.

"Of course Kakashi! What do you wanna know?" Naruto replied.

"Where did I get my name? Mom wouldn't tell me and she said it was up to you to tell me. She said it was your story to tell and not hers." Little Kakashi carefully stated.

Naruto hung his head solemnly, slowed his pace, and sighed as if he had been dreading this day his whole life. "I had hoped you would be a little older when I told you that story Kakashi." Naruto quietly answered.

"On C'mon dad! Tell me! I'm 7 years old you know! I'm not a little kid anymore!" Little Kakashi whined as he crossed his arms and stuck out his lip, just like his own father had done when he was a child. "You're gonna have to tell me eventually anyway so you might as well tell me now."

"Hehe. A grown man at the age of 7 eh? You know its kinda hard to take a grown man seriously that still spits whenever he speaks through the toothless hole in his mouth from the lost tooth he had lost a couple of weeks ago." Naruto laughed as he poked fun at his son.

"EERRGG! Just tell me already! Or I'll.. I'll.. I'll beat you up by gosh!" little Kakashi shouted in anger.

"Hmm. Well when you put it that way.." Naruto began to reflect upon his former sensei. "You see this tanto Kakashi?" He started as he pulled the short blade from its scabbard under his jacket. "This belonged to Hatake Kakashi, the man you were named after. He was my sensei when I was young. It was a family heirloom that was passed down to him by his father, and since he never had any children of his own, he passed it down to me on his deathbed." Just then the blade started to emanate a dark red and white swirling chakra. "It is a special blade that sharpens itself by channeling the chakra of the user. When a member of the Hatake family wielded it, it only emanated a bright white chakra. In my hands, it radiates both red and white. Here you go Kakashi, its yours now son. I think it would be right to put it in your hands, seeing as you share his name. I know that if he were alive today, he would be even more proud of you, then he was of me." Naruto handed the blade to little Kakashi and gave him the scabbard.

"WOW!" Kakashi gasped as he grabbed the blade. "Its so light!" Just then the blade started to radiate the white chakra that it was known to do. "Thanks dad! I'll keep it safe. You can count on it!" He responded proudly with a smile as he placed it back in the scabbard and fastened it to his side. "But how come it glows red and white when you hold it, but only white when I hold it?"

"Well, that's a long story with a difficult explanation son. I'll tell you another time." Naruto answered.

"How did he die?" Kakashi asked his father carefully. Having been raised in Konoha, he was well aware of how the world worked, especially the shinobi world. As much as Naruto was somewhat caught off guard by the question, he wasn't surprised.

"Well, it was 13 years ago." Naruto started. "We were on a mission to try and rescue a former friend and shinobi from Konoha."

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(flashback to the Leaf Village team's first encounter with Tobi)

Naruto rose from the water's edge, where he was just kicked by the mysterious Akatsuki member known as Tobi. Just as the team got into attack formation, Tobi disappeared from the branch that he had just been perched on.

"Hello Kakashi. Long time no see." Tobi whispered as he appeared behind Hatake Kakashi with his kunai drawn across his victim's throat. "Its been a very long time so I don't entirely blame you not to recognize my voice, especially from under this mask." Just as Naruto hurled himself into action to save his sensei, Tobi disappeared again, only to reappear back on the branch where he stood moments ago. "A jumpy little Jinchuuriki aren't you kid? Better put a leash on your pet before he gets himself hurt himself Kakashi."

"Who are you?" Kakashi asked, puzzled and somewhat in shock.

The rest of the team stood shocked to have just seen one of Konoha's best, just nearly have his life taken in the blink of an eye. "Still don't know who I am? Hmm. Maybe I can think of a clue to help you guess. Ah yes! How about trying to remember where you got that eye? Does that ring a bell…my long lost friend?."

Kakashi and Yamato stood in absolute disbelief and confusion, not believing the claims of the mysterious Tobi. Yamato had known for quite some time that Kakashi had gotten his eye from his late former teammate and friend Uchiha Obito. "LIES!" Kakashi shouted in anger. "He died so long ago! HOW DARE YOU CLAIM TO BE. . ." as Kakashi paused wondering how this man seemingly knew where he got his Sharingan eye. "Wait, how do you ... ?"

"How do I know? Because I gave it to you fool!" Tobi answered as he reached behind his head and unbuckled his spiraling mask. As the mask lowered, the expression on Kakashi's face changed from confusion to anger and sorrow, all in the same moment.

"But, . . . you were . . " Kakashi stammered as he tried hard just to stay on his feet.

"WHAT?! DEAD? HAAAHAAA! GUESS NOT! " Tobi shouted with a sinister laugh, just as Kakashi dropped to his knees! The mysterious man had resembled the face of his long lost comrade. "Oh, don't cry Kakashi. You will ruin my eye! I know that I'm not as pretty as I used to be, but considering how much those rocks weighed, its amazing that I have a face at all!" His face was riddled with scars covering his entire right half of his face. As he lifted an eye patch covering his left eye, he revealed a blank eye socket. "Now you see Kakashi, it's time to give me my other eye back." Just as he recovered his left eye with the patch, his right eye changed into the Sharingan known to belong only to the Uchiha. In an instant, the entire team of Konoha that had their eyes fixed on their opponent at that moment, succumbed to a paralyzing jutsu from the Sharingan. All except Kakashi, who had already raised his forehead protector to reveal his own Sharingan. Tobi jumped from his perch and walked slowly toward Kakashi. "Now we can do this one of two ways. Either give your old friend his eye back, or your old friend takes it back from you. One way you will live and we can chit-chat like the buddies we once were. And the other you die? Well lets just say that we wont be talking anymore the other way. Either way, I will have my eye back, and you will have a little harder time reading."

"You can't be Obito. He died beneath that pile of rocks so long ago." he cried. _"This has to be a genjutsu." _he thought to himself.

"Heehee! Oh no! Its not a genjutsu Kakashi. This is reality." Tobi answered with a terrifying cackle, as if knowing exact what Kakashi was thinking. "You left me for dead back then. You always underestimated me Kakashi. Now you pay for that mistake." Tobi continued to walk with a focused eye, kunai at hand.

"Obito would never... YOU ARE NOT OBITO! YOU CANT BE HIM!! OBITO IS DEAD!" Kakashi shouted in anger. For the fist time in years, he has let his emotions get the better of him, and in a move that Naruto himself was prone to, he jumped toward his opponent, kunai in hand.

The exchange lasted mere seconds. Kunai and shuriken lay all over planted in the surrounding trees. "I'm disappointed Kakashi. Jumping in with such simple Taijutsu and these little weapons? How did anyone ever consider you to be a great ninja?" Standing with kunai pushing against each other, the two stood face to face. His raw emotion had been such that even advanced combat tactics escaped Kakashi's mind for the moment.

"Don't think its that simple." Kakashi replied in a sweat. Just as Tobi spun around and planted his kunai in Kakashi's chest, a puff of smoke appeared and Tobi was left holding up a small log. At that moment, Kakashi appeared behind Tobi with his Hatake family tanto drawn to the back of Tobi's neck. The pure white chakra began to radiate from the blade as it did in the hands of a Hatake wielder. "Whoever you really are, it is time that you drop your charade, and reveal yourself now."

"A replacement jutsu? How basic. It's almost funny! HAAHAAHAAAA! Do you mean to leave me for dead yet again Kakashi?" Tobi cackled, his voice not showing the least amount of concern for the blade drawn across his neck.

"You are not him, but I can ill afford to have you die just yet Akatsuki scum." Kakashi breathed heavily as he spoke. "I need you alive for questioning."

"Your mistake Kakashi. Your last mistake." Tobi muttered. Just then he turned to face Kakashi with no concern about the blade at his neck. Tobi grabbed for a kunai under his cloak and put it to Kakashi's side in a move so fast, that even Kakashi was caught off guard. "You will not kill me again Kakashi, and that is where you will fail." Tobi continued as he shoved his kunai deep upward through the lower robs of Kakashi's chest. "And this is where you die!"

"Gu-hulp!" Kakashi gasped as blood spilled from his mouth as the blade pushed through his skin and into the center of his chest. "NOOOOO!" He screamed with a gargled voice as he pushed his blade through the neck of his foe, only to fall through his noncorporeal body to the ground below."

"NNNNOOOOOOO!" Shouted Naruto as he broke the jutsu enough to let out a scream.

"Oh?" said Tobi as he turned to face Naruto. "No? OH YES JINCHUURIKI! OH YES!" Tobi laughed maniacally.

Just then, Naruto began to radiate the red-orange chakra of the Kyuubi and started to move through shear force and willpower. "KAKASHI SENSEI! GET UP!" Naruto shouted as his form began to show the demonic characteristics that manifested when he drew heavily upon the Kyuubi chakra.

"I don't have time for this." Stated Tobi with an annoyed eye roll. "As entertaining as it would be, I don't have the time to play with you right now Jinchuuriki."

"Hello Kyuubi no Youko. It seems like an near eternity doesn't it?" There stood Tobi at the sealed gates of Naruto's subconscious. Naruto stood motionless against the far wall behind Tobi.

_**"YOU! I KNOW THAT CHAKRA! COME TO SET ME FREE ONCE AGAIN UCHIHA MADARA?"**_thundered the Kyuubi from behind his prison bars. Naruto's eyes widened as he had recognized this name from his previous encounter with Sasuke.

"No. I have better plans for you that don't involve your rampaging around just yet beast." Tobi calmly answered. "For now, I cant have you interfering."

_**"YOU INSOLENT HUMAN!"**_ shouted the Kyuubi as he slashed at the man standing before him, claws just making it through the bars. Just then the Kyuubi seemed to fall into a sleep before Tobi's stare.

"Now then, that's done." Tobi said as he vanished from Naruto's subconscious. Back to the battlefield where Kakashi lay impaled through his side. Naruto, being left without the aid of the Kyuubi, fell again to the affects of the paralyzing jutsu. "I'll even let you watch Jinchuuriki Naruto. I'm not here for you. Not yet anyway." as Tobi smirked. Tobi turned back toward Kakashi and dropped to his knees. Kakashi tried to reach for his tanto but Tobi just swiped it away, grabbed his hand and broke it at the wrist.

"AAARRUUUUHH!" Kakashi screamed in pain as more blood coughed from his lungs.

Tobi grabbed Kakashi's head by his hair, and held it up to his own. Staring eye to eye with Kakashi, he slowly pulled Kakashi's ear toward his mouth, and whispered these words. "Well, you were right by the way. I'm not Obito. He is merely my vessel. I will give you the respect to know your killer. I am Uchiha Madara, and I need your eye back where it belongs; In the hand of a true Uchiha." Madara reached for Kakashi's Sharingan eye with his thumb and first two fingers, and plucked it from Kakashi's eye socket. Kakashi's screams of pain did little to influence Madara's movements as he dropped Kakashi to the ground. Almost as suddenly as he appeared before the team, he vanished. Immediately afterward, the team snapped out of the jutsu that made them witness to Kakashi's slaying.

"Naru..to." Kakashi muttered as he coughed blood from his lungs. "Come here.. Naruto."

"Hold still Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura screamed as she ran over and rolled him to his back. She placed her hands above his chest and began to try and heal the wound. "I only need a little time! I can heal you!" She cried as tears streamed down her cheeks. "Yamato-sama! I need you to remove the…"

"No Sakura, its too ..late." Kakashi breathed with great difficulty. Sakura continued despite his words. "Naruto, come here." Naruto walked to and fell to his knees at his sensei's side. "I want you to have this. It belonged.." Kakashi struggled to make his words as blood continued ro run up his throat. " This belonged to my family, and now I want it to belong to you. I never had a son of my own, but I've come to think of you almost as my own. I know you will protect it." Kakashi reached for the tanto, but it was out of his reach.

Naruto grabbed the tanto, placed it back in Kakashi's hand, and closed his hands around the handle. "I. . I cant take that. Its yours and it belongs to the Hatake clan. I . . I don't deserve it. I couldn't protect you…. I failed you! I cant take it!" Naruto cried at his sensei's side.

"Naruto." Kakashi breathed as the rest of the team could only watch on. "You were my best student Naruto. This was not your fault. He is . . ." Kakashi coughed more blood from his chest. "He is Uchiha Madara. You have such greatness in you Naruto, but you are no match for that man. Not now, you aren't ready. You and Sakura both need to become stronger yet." Kakashi coughs up more blood as he tries to speak. "But you will be. Now, take this, its the last gift I can give to you. Its up to you now Naruto." Kakashi lurched and coughed up more blood before turning his eye to Sakura. "Aah, Sakura. You have such greatness in you, but you need to know that for.. for yourself. There is.." as he continued to cough up more blood. "There is nothing left that I could teach you. Lady Tsunade will make you greater than I could have ever hoped." He paused as he once again looked at his students, and with the last of his breathes, spoke these words. "Don't let Sasuke become like that monster. Don't let him.." he coughed up one last mouthful of blood before falling limp to the ground, his one eye still open.

"NNNOOOO!!!!"" shouted Sakura. "I CAN SAVE YOU KAKASHI SENSEI! I CAN . . I CAN . ." she screamed as she tried to heal the wounds that had already run their course. Yamato walked over and laid his hands on Sakura shoulder.

"Its too late Sakura. He is gone now." Yamato spoke quietly. "There is nothing more that you can do for him besides remembering and honoring him and his memory."

Naruto leaned over toward his fallen sensei's head, and placed his hand over Kakashi's head. Slowly, he ran his hand over and closed Kakashi's eye. His own eyes clamped shut tight, only letting the tears run through. His breathe grew heavy and shaken, his teeth clenched tight. The combination of rage and sorrow shown upon his face.

Among the rest of the tem members, remained absolute silence. A combination of respect and sorrow. Hinata's own eyes filled with tears that streamed endlessly down her cheeks at the sight before her.

Moments later, Naruto's tears halted, and his face relaxed as he slowly stood up and turned toward the woods.

"Narutoo!" Cried Sakura as tears continued to stream down her face. "Don't.. don't go Naruto. Don't leave me too." She cried out as her voice gave way to silence. "I can't lose you too."

Naruto halted his movement and slowly turned around and faced the group. Eyes that only seconds ago streamed tears, were now devoid of all emotion. Lips that seconds ago, quivered and shook from the sadness, now were still. With his deep-blue eyes, he looked calmly at Sakura. "This wont happen again." he spoke quietly before his eyes fell to the ground. "I failed to protect him, I failed to protect us all. I cant let this happen again." Naruto started to turn back toward the woods.

"Naruto!" Shouted Sakura. "There was nothing.."

"NO!" Naruto stopped her mid sentence with an angry shout. Without turning around, he now showed the kind of rage that would make most men run in fear. His eyes turned a deep red and his fangs began to appear as the demonic chakra returned to his system. "This wont happen again!" He growled as he jumped into the forest away from the team, leaving the team standing around Kakashi's dead body.

"I'll go after him." Snapped Kiba as he turned toward the woods to pursue Naruto.

"No!" Ordered Yamato. "Give him a little time. Just keep track of him from a distance for a while."

Kiba nodded his head in obedience and waited a few seconds before proceeding into the woods to follow his comrade.

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(back to the road headed for Konoha)

Naruto walked quietly with his son now walking at his side again. A single tear fell from Naruto's eye as they walked in silence for a few minutes. Naruto wiped the tear from his cheek and perked up to save face in front of his son. "Yep. He was a great shinobi and a great man." Naruto said with a forced smile across his lips. "That's why we gave you his name. It is the greatest honor I could give to his memory. I know you will do his memory justice Uzumaki Kakashi."

Little Kakashi could only look up at his father's smiling face with sadness in his own expression. He could tell that the smile that his father was showing was fake. "I hope so father. I hope I can earn my name."

Author's notes: OK, well this is the slight revision of Chapter 1 - The Return. I added little bits here and there, and made some corrections. I also added some extra spice to Kakashi's death scene. Upon re-reading it, I really felt that I didn't do his death justice.


	2. Chapter 2 The Road

Here it is, Chapter 2. I'm still not Kishi and I still don't own Naruto, so it seems that I'm doing this for free. What a deal. But here we go with Chapter 2 - The Road. Please remember that the events of this chapter take off in the middle of the actual Manga Itachi Vs. Sasuke fight, specifically after Chapter388.

Chapter 2 - The Road

_"I will make that Dream, a reality." he said. It seems that he had finally taken me seriously. That he finally realized that I wasn't just his little kid brother anymore. At that moment I think I understood what Naruto meant when he talked about being recognized, because I think that I felt the same thing. Finally, my big brother was actually afraid that I stood a chance against him. Finally, he realized that the hatred that he planted in my soul had grown to the point that I was a real threat to him now. Finally, I was going to fulfill what I had sacrificed so much for. This was the moment that I had waited for so long." _

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(flash back to the showdown between Itachi and Sasuke)

"I will make that dream, a reality." Itachi said just before he closed his left eye and raised his hands for a jutsu.

_"Oh shit!" _thought Sasuke to himself. _"He hardly EVER uses hand signs! What the fu.. is this..? NOO! AMATERASU? OH SHIT! I cant be anywhere near that!" _Sasuke thought to himself, trying to hide his fear from his brother._ "What the fuck am I... Wait, what is that? or WHO is that?" _

Sasuke took a sideways defensive stance and hid his rear left arm from Itachi's view while Itachi prepared his jutsu. Just as Itachi raised his head and started to open his eye, Sasuke set his plan into motion. Although Sasuke lacked significant details about how the jutsu worked, between the scrolls and what Orochimaru had taught him, it was a jutsu that required precise aim. _"Hopefully I can move out of his aim for just a second. That's all I need."_ is what Sasuke thought just before he jumped up and to the right, to the wall. There just long enough grip on the wall to jump back toward his target.

"Oh shit! He spotted us!" Zetsu said to himself.

Just before he tried to withdraw back into the wall, Sasuke grabbed hold of Zetsu with a huge bite from his snake arm and pulled him out of the wall. He wrapped up Zetsu and turned him to place him in between himself and Itachi.

**"I told you we should have gone to watch Tobi!"**Zetsu's other half said to himself with a groan.

Itachi opened his eye and hardly looked like the situation had changed. "Clever move Sasuke. I didn't think you would notice him. I told you to leave us alone Zetsu." Itachi calmly said.

"I couldn't pass up a chance to see the Uchiha brothers kill each other." Zetsu said before Sasuke tightened his grip around Zetsu's body.

"Shut up you plant freak!" shouted Sasuke. "I never said you could speak! Be quiet before I pump you full of venom!"

**"Hehehe. Try it kid! Venom works on animals like you skin bag humans. I don't entirely qualify.!"** Zetsu said just before he closed his body and turned around to face Sasuke and reopened his shell.

"What the . . ." Sasuke muttered in shock.

"What indeed." Zetsu replied just before a vine reached out from under his cloak and grabbed Sasuke's leg. **"What indeed" **Repeated Zetsu just before he pulled Sasuke's leg out from under him and latched on with multiple vines to push out of Sasuke's snake grip. "Hehehe! What's the big deal Itachi? He doesn't like vegetables?" ; **"Too bad, You shoulda told me!****" **Zetsu laughed just before he threw Sasuke against the nearest wall. Sasuke hit hard enough to be knocked to the ground.

Itachi's expression went from one of concentration, to one of anger. "Leave us alone Zetsu."

"I'm afraid I cant right now. The leader wants us now." ; **"Besides, what did you plan to do with his eyes once you reduced them to ashes with Amaterasu?" **Zetsu said to Itachi. "Don't think us fools Itachi. We know why you are here."

"I'll be there shortly." Itachi responded. "Now get out of here Zetsu."

"Not an option Itachi. The leader calls, and we go. You know that." Zetsu calmly replied.

"Noo! Not this time Itachi! This time, you stay!" Roared Sasuke as he pulled himself up from the floor. "This time you don't run away. This time you die! I've waited too long for this" Sasuke readied himself by grabbing his Kusunagi sword, and spat a mouthful of blood on the floor. "Now do as he says plantman and leave us. You will not rob me of this moment. This ends, here and now!"

"Dammit Zetsu! Fine, go get Kisame. I'll be there!" Itachi replied just before Zetsu sunk into the floor and disappeared. "Hehe. Almost there Sasuke." Itachi chuckled sarcastically..

"NNOOO! We finish this NOW, Itachi!" shouted Sasuke.

"Hehehehe. Little brother. I'll see you soon enough." Spoke Itachi before he dispersed into a murder of crows.

"Like hell Itachi! I WONT LET YOU GET AWAY!!" Sasuke screamed just before unleashing a Chidori blast that filled the entire room, vaporizing most of the crows! "WHERE ARE YOU ITACHI?! SHOW YOURSELF! SHOW YOURSELF YOU DAMN COWARD!!" Sasuke screamed as he dropped to his knees, realizing that Itachi was gone already. "NNNOOOOOO!!"

"SASUKE!" screamed Karin as she burst into the room followed by the other members of Team Hebi. "What happened?"

"Leave him alone Karin." spoke up Juugo.

"FUCK YOU!" shouted Karin back at Juugo, as she ran in a panic toward Sasuke.

"Leave me alone Karin." Sasuke said quietly without lifting his head.

Karin continued toward Sasuke anyways and said, "What? But you've been hurt. Let me.."

"I said leave now, Karin!" Sasuke shouted back in anger.

"NO! You've been hurt! Let me bandage.. GUHUULP!" Karin gasped and choked as Sasuke impaled her on his Kusunagi sword. "Sass..sssu..ke... What.. did you.. Why would...you?" Karin coughed up a mouthful of blood as she fell to her knees before Sasuke.

Suigetsu and Juugo could only gasp as they watched what was going on before their eyes. "What the fuck was that about?" shouted Suigetsu.

Sasuke leaned down next to Karin's ear and whispered, "I don't need you anymore, and you annoy me." Sasuke twisted and pulled his blade from Karin's chest with a push from his foot. He sheathed his sword, turned and walked toward the door, passing between Juugo and Suigetsu. "We don't need her anymore. Itachi will find me, and I'll kill him when he does." Sasuke grabbed his cloak and threw it over his shoulders before proceeding out the door.

"Pssh. I never liked her anyway. She was creepy." Suigetsu said to Juugo before throwing his sword over his shoulder and following Sasuke out. Juugo took a last look back at Karin's dead body and followed suit.

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(back to current time with Sasuke walking along the road)

"_I was robbed of my vengeance for the second time on that day. "It wasn't going to happen the next time we met." I told myself. "Next time" is all I could think after that. "Next time, It will end. One of us will die and it will finally be over." One of our lives would have had to end the next time we met. I wouldn't be deprived again." _

"Its getting cold again. Night must be close. I should try to find a place to get off the road for the night." Sasuke said to himself before walking off the side of the road, into the woods. _"I should start a small fire for heat, but I have to get far enough off the road to stay unseen. Bandits travel this road at night." _he thought to himself as he continued to walk slowly through the brush. He struggled to get through the dense vines before his leg was caught and he fell to the ground, hitting his head on a rock. He spent the entire night there, laying on the ground and bleeding from the wound on his head.

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(Back to Naruto and Kakashi traveling a different road)

"Its getting to be nightfall, Kakashi. We should build a small fire off the road and set in for the night." Naruto said to his son.

"Aah, Ok." Was Kakashi's simple reply. "I'll go get some wood for the fire."

"Don't go too far Kakashi. There are bandits that travel around here at night and you are still a kid." Naruto warned.

"Psh. I'll be fine dad. I think I can handle a few little woodland creatures just fine." Puffed the little blond as he jumped into the woods to gather firewood.

Naruto walked off the road to a clearing a short distance off the road. "Heh, lucky me. There's an old campsite here already." He spoke as he walked toward the clearing. Just as he reached the edge of the clearing, he gasped with wide eyes and grabbed his chest! "HUURR... AAAHH!" he coughed as he fell to his knees. "No! Not now!" he gasped once again as he coughed up blood. "Not now! Why now?" He winced from the pain in his chest that seemed to burn through his lungs and heart. "Not now." he whispered as quietly as he could so that little Kakashi wouldn't hear. He pulled himself back up to his knees and breathed as deeply as he could, trying to recover his breathe. After a few seconds he could shut it out enough to stand again. Carefully he covered the blood on the ground with some dirt so Kakashi wouldn't notice that anything had happened.

Naruto got to the makeshift fire pit and used a branch to brush away the old ash. "I'm back!" cheered Kakashi as he jumped into the clearing with a pile of firewood in his arms.

"WOW! That was quick!" smiled Naruto.

"Hey! What happened to your coat dad?" Kakashi asked as he noticed the dirt on the knees of his father's coat. "It wasn't dirty before I left!"

"Heh, shoulda known I couldn't get it past your keen eyes." Naruto smiled and laughed to Kakashi. "I tripped on a rock on the way in. Some hero your old man is that gets beaten by a rock in the ground while he's trying to walk eh?"

"Yeah, you are sort of a cluts." Kakashi joked as he started to arrange the sticks in the pit.

"Nice arrangement Kakashi. It should burn very well." stated Naruto. "So, aren't you gonna light it?"

"Uuummm. . . Uuh, I cant." replied Kakashi as he rubbed the back of his head with a bashful smile and his gum chewing slowed a bit. "I cant do any Katon jutsus yet. Ebisu-sensei is so boring, I keep falling asleep every time he tries to teach me Katon jutsus."

"HAAHAA!" laughed Naruto as he slapped his knee. "HAAHAA! I know! He tried to teach me when I was a kid and I ran away and spread myself all over town with a Tajuu Kage Buunshin. He caught me though. He may be boring, but he is an excellent teacher. You would do well to TRY and pay attention. He can teach you a lot about proper chakra molding. If I had paid more attention, then I wouldn't be the chakra burner that I am today. It's the kind of thing that's much easier to learn while you are young."

"BAAH! Like running out of chakra is a problem for you dad! You never run out of chakra!" laughed Kakashi, all wide-eyed and mouth full of gum! "But if you say so, Ill try to pay more attention. Now are you gonna light this fire Dad, or am I gonna have to rub sticks together?"

"Hehe. I suppose. . . **KATON!** " as Naruto made the appropriate seals sprayed the firepit with a stream of fire from his mouth. "You know, when I was your age, I was still learning how to throw shuriken properly. I didn't learn about the elements till I was a teenager. The fact that Ebisu is teaching you that already, really says a lot about your talent. You should be very proud."

"Aaahh, Stop it dad!" Little Kakashi replied. His cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "You know that they started teaching Elemental jutsus to the Genin after you ordered it as a part of the curriculum."

"Oh yeah. Don't worry. It will come to you Kakashi. It just takes some time." Naruto responded, comforting his son with a pat on the back.

"Isn't a good fire the best dad?" Kakashi said after a few minutes of silence. Naruto just smiled and nodded. "So dad, why are we traveling so slowly anyways? Surely if we just ran through the forest, we would be back a lot sooner than just walking on the road. Aren't people gonna worry if you aren't back soon?"

"Bah, I have Neji-kun watching over things while I'm gone. He's the real brains behind the operation anyway. Speaking of which, how is your training with Neji-kun going? How is your Juuken training going?" Naruto asked, changing the topic at hand.

"Aah, Neji-sensei is boring too, but I think that I'm learning pretty fast." Kakashi answered with some degree of confidence. "He keeps going on about how he can't believe he is training someone from the Main family. What's he talking about?"

"Aah, I thought he was finally over that. I guess some wounds never heal. Those Hyuuga's sure carry a grudge don't they?" Naruto answered with a wide smile. "That's a story from a long time ago. Maybe another time. So what is he teaching you?"

"Well, my Juuken training is going great! Neji-sensei is calling me a natural. He says the only problem I seem to be having is controlling my chakra enough to limit my chakra discharge. He keeps saying that my chakra shoots out too far and its throwing off my range, which is causing a problem with the maneuvers. So he said he had to speak with you about it when he got a chance. Something about my chakra 'density'. Whatever that means." Replied Kakashi. "So why are we moving so slow? You didn't answer my question."

"I figured it would be nice to go slow so we can spend some time together. Being Hokage keeps me so busy that I don't get to spend enough time with you. I figured that this would be kinda like a vacation for us. Just the two of us. Not to mention the fact that I'm afraid of your mother finding out where I REALLY took you. I had to call in a lot of favors to keep her in the dark about the army forming at the border. If she found out that I took you with me to drive away an army, she would be pissed. You don't know what a Hyuuga woman can do to your manhood when she's angry. There was this time when she caught me . . . Uuh . . Hehe, nevermind." Naruto blushed and rubbed the back of his head.

"HAAAHAAAA!" Kakashi laughed so hard that he fell off his log. "You are just like an old pervert! HAAHAA! Ero-Sennin! Ero-Sennin! Ero-Sennin!" Kakashi continued shouting and laughing till his sides hurt, even spitting out his gum! He didn't notice the change in his father's face. While Kakashi kept laughing, Naruto's normally smiley appearance reduced to one of sorrow. His eyes fell to the ground as he covered his face with his hands. He didn't notice Kakashi stop laughing. "What's wrong dad? Something I said?" asked Kakashi, while his laughter came to a quick halt.

"Uuuhh. . " clearly shaken by those words, he ran his hands through his yellow hair and looked up at the night sky. "I haven't heard that name in years. That was the joke name that I had for my old sensei, Jiraiya-sama."

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(flashback to the woods just after Kakashi's death)

Naruto sat on a branch, high in the canopy of the trees, crying all alone. His body burned with the uncontrolled red chakra of the Kyuubi, as his tears sizzled when they dropped to the branches below.

"Hey! Naruto!" shouted a voice from the woods behind him. "Naruto!" repeated the voice. "Hey Naruto!" Kiba shouted as he broke through the canopy and landed on a branch behind Naruto. "We have to get back Naruto-kun. Yamato-sama has ordered us to return to Konoha. He said the trail has gone cold and we need to get Kakashi's body back to Konoha."

"Leave me alone Kiba." Whispered Naruto between gasps of air. "Just.. leave me alone."

Kiba replied, "But Naruto! We need to get mov.."

"I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE KIBA!" screamed Naruto, lifting his head and turning to face Kiba. "Go away!" His face was filled with sorrow and rage. His demonic red eyes continued to stream tears.

"Uum.. ok Naruto. I'll tell the team you need more time before we go." Replied Kiba as he turned to go back. "Naruto, it'll be ok. We will get them for this."

Naruto didn't respond as Kiba jumped back below the canopy to return to the team. He just sat there, with only his tears and sadness for company. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a puff of smoke appeared just beside him. Naruto didn't even seem to notice, or even care.

"Hey Naruto! How's it goin?" It was Gamakichi the toad friend of Naruto. "Hey, what's wrong Naruto? You look like someone just di..." As Gamakichi stopped himself as soon as he finally noticed Naruto current state. "Oh damn, what happened?"

"Kakashi-sensei." Was all that Naruto replied, as tears continued to stream through his fingers.

In shock, Gamakichi gasped, "What? Kakashi? Don't tell me he . . " He could tell from Naruto's lack of response what had happened. "Oh no. I'm sorry Naruto. Is there anything I can do?"

"Its too late for anything now Gamakichi. I.. I was too late. I couldn't . . " Naruto managed to stutter before he gasped for air again. "I couldn't do anything. I just stood there, helpless while he . . . I should have been stronger! I could've stopped him! I COULD'VE STOPPED HIM!" he cried before he fell back into his hands and the chakra raged around him yet again.

"Whoa!" shouted Gamakichi as he had to jump away from the chakra wave caused by Naruto's breakdown. "Umm, I guess this is a bad time then to tell you, but I have a message for you from the old man. Gamabunta-sama sent me to get you. He said it was absolutely urgent."

After a few moments, he finally responded. "What? What would he want with me?" Naruto managed to ask between gasps.

"I don't know. He just said to find you and bring you to him. He said to use this to get there." As Gamakichi handed a scroll to Naruto. "There's a one time teleportation jutsu in there that should take you straight to the old man."

"Umm" Naruto muttered as he tried to wipe the tears from his face. "Umm.. I cant right now. We have to return to Konoha to bury Kakashi-sensei's body. Tell him.. Tell him that I'll be there in a couple days. OK Gamakichi?"

"Sorry Naruto, but we don't have that kind of time. When the old man says something is urgent, it means yesterday." replied Gamakichi. "We will send a messenger to your team when we get there, but we need to go right now. Use the scroll, it works kinda like a summoning. Just bite your thumb and place your hand on the seal. I'll see you there." With a puff of smoke Gamakichi disappeared.

Naruto wiped the tears from his eyes and tried to compose himself again. After a few minutes, he opened the scroll, bit his thumb, pressed his hand against the seal, and with a puff of smoke he disappeared. He reappeared at the foot of a massive throne on which sat Gamabunta, the Frog Boss.

"Aay, Naruto. Good to see you followed instructions. Gamakichi just told me what happened to your sensei just before you got here. For what its worth, I'm sorry Naruto. He was an admirable shinobi and Konoha will miss him greatly. Unfortunately, I have only more grim news to deliver."

Naruto looked up at the great toad boss with a blank stare. "Kakashi-sensei has just died and you have GRIM news? What could possibly be grim compared to that?"

Gamabunta puffed slowly on his pipe. "Jiraiya has died."

Naruto had no initial response. For nearly a minute, he only stared blankly at Gamabunta. Eventually, he looked down to the ground before he fell to his knees in front of the Toad Boss. He buried his face in his hands as the tears began to stream through his fingers. Gamabunta maintained his silence while waiting for a response from Naruto. "How?" finally whispered Naruto. "How did he die?"

"He died while trying to investigate Akatsuki. I think he knew this might happen before he started his investigation of the Akatsuki Leader. He sent the Toad Scroll back here with a message that if anything happened to him, that it was to be given to you. Exactly what happened, I don't know. I only know that I could sense his life end as his chakra faded away. I can sense the chakra of individuals that sign the contract with the toads. There is no mistaking it, Jiraiya has passed away." answered the Toad Boss. "From here on out, you will train under us. We will see to it that you are given the tools to avenge your sensei."

"No." replied Naruto without lifting his face from his hands.

"No?!" huffed Gamabunta, almost angrily. "What do you mean NO!? I am telling you that we are giving you the chance to attain power, to avenge the deaths of your senseis!"

"Vengeance is what sent Sasuke to Orochimaru. It is what is destroying him now. I wont succumb to that kind of rage. If I am going to train under you, it is going to be so that I can protect those that I have left. I will not lose my life to revenge." Naruto growled as the Kyuubi chakra began to swirl around him yet again. "If it takes my own life, I will protect those around me from this day on."

"Hmm." is all that Gamabunta could say as he looked down at Naruto. "Then, you are indeed ready to be my student. We, the toads will unlock your true potential. We will give you what you need to protect those around you. Now, go rest Naruto, we begin tomorrow. You will need it. Gamakichi will show you a room you can stay in while you stay here."

"Yeah, c'mon Naruto. I'll show you where it is. I got all the basics for a human in there." said Gamakishi as he hopped toward the doorway.

"No Gamabunta-sensei." Naruto coldly replied as he wiped the tears from his face and the red chakra subsided. "We have to start now."

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(back to current time, the forest clearing off the road)

Kakashi and Naruto sat silent as the fire started to dwindle down. Naruto wiped a tear from his face and turned away from Kakashi as he grabbed a couple of logs and added them to the fire. Kakashi could only sit there in awe of the man that sat there before him, as tears streamed down his own cheeks.

A few silent minutes later, Kakashi quietly asked, "How long were you gone? How long were you gone with the toads?"

"Three years I trained with them. Everyday I trained to become strong enough to ensure that it wouldn't happen again. Three long years away from my Konoha." Naruto answered quietly before stirring the fire. "Get to sleep Kakashi. We have a long walk tomorrow and if we make good time, we can get back to Konoha tomorrow night. Ill have a Buunshin stand guard while we sleep."

Kakashi silently obeyed his father's words and rolled up in his sleeping bag. "Good night dad."

" Good night son. Sleep tight." as Naruto knelt down to kiss his son on the forehead before resuming his place sitting on the log.

All night he sat there on that log, keeping the fire burning hot enough to keep his precious son warm. Keeping watch over that which he held most dear, his family.

Well, fortunately for you folks, Chapter3 is already finished so you wont even have to wait for it. As soon as I can upload it, its yours to see. And the story is STILL a work in progress so I still don't know how long its going to be. The story keeps getting longer every time I start thinking.


	3. Chapter 3 Strangers and Blades

Here's Chapter 3 folks as promised. Still not Kishi, still not rich, still working for free. I'm going to go ahead and add a little warning note this time. So far the biggest comment that I've gotten is about the condition that I've put Sasuke in. Don't worry, there is a lot of story left so don't feel too sorry for Sasuke just yet. I will however warn you that if you are expecting a happy storyline, then it may be best if you don't proceed through the entire story or you will probably be disappointed. If anything, this story is going to be more of a tragedy than a tale of victory, happiness, and friends eating pie together. So, that being said, I give you Chapter 3 - Strangers and Blades.

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**Chapter 3 - Strangers and Blades**

"Hey! . . Hey you there! Wake up!" says a voice from a nearby person. "I DUNNO! I CAN SEE HES BREATHING, BUT I DUNNO IF HES JUST SLEEPING! HE ISNT RESPONDING!" shouts the voice. "Aaah. I see. You had a bit of an accident didn't you friend?" speaks the voice to Sasuke lying still on the ground. "LOOKS LIKE HE HIT HIS HEAD ON A ROCK! WE SHOULD BANDAGE HIM UP! COME HERE AND GIVE ME A HAND WILL YA? You just lie there friend, we will get you fixed right up." the friendly voice speaks in Sasuke's ear just before everything goes silent again.

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(flashback to a few hours after the Itachi encounter)

The 3 remaining members of Team Hebi sit around a fire just after nightfall. Suigetsu, Juugo, and Sasuke sit around the fire in absolute silence, neither Suigetsu or Juugo are willing to break the silence just yet. Until..

"Why did you kill Karin? She was a member of the team." Juugo says, breaking up the uncomfortable silence.

"Whaddya mean, WHY? She was an annoying bitch with an unhealthy obsession with Sasuke! I woulda killed her myself in another day or two!" shouts Suigetsu.

"She was still a member of the team. Have some respect Suigetsu." replied Juugo.

Suigetsu stands up and throws his hands in the air. "Respect that freak? I don't think so. I say good riddance to bad rubbish! I'm gonna go kill me some food. I'm starving." he says as he jumps into the woods.

"Now that he's gone, why did you do it Sasuke?" Juugo repeats the question to Sasuke who still just sits silently by the fire.

Finally Sasuke moves and stirs the fire as he looks into the burning embers and flying sparks. "We don't need her anymore. The only reason she was on this team was so that she could track Itachi's chakra signature. Itachi will find me when he's ready, and now that I know why, I know he wont take long to come back. Besides, your birds were more useful in finding them than she was. All she did was get us out of town in time to avoid the Leaf team. Whatever happened that threw them off our trail worked. If they still had a trail on us, we would have known by now." Sasuke explained without as much as a hint of regret.

"So why did you kill her? She could have still been useful." Juugo asked.

Sasuke stared coldly at Juugo, "I said we don't need her anymore. She was starting to become more of a liability than an asset every time she tried to get rid of you and Suigetsu. She was a researcher, not a fighter. If it had come down to an encounter with the leaf, she would have been dead weight against them."

Juugo replied, "But still, you didn't have to k.. k.. kill . KILL!" Juugo started to breathe heavily as his Curse Seal began to spread through his face. "KILL, I WANNA KILL SOMEONE! GOTTA KILL SOMEONE! IF ANYONE SHOULD KILL SOMEONE, I SHOULD KILL THEM!" Juugo shouted!

"OYE! SHUT YER MOUTH STAINFACE!" as Suigetsu jumped into the clearing. "How am I supposed to hunt with you shouting like that shit?"

"RRAAHHAAAHH!!" Juugo leapt at Suigetsu and started beating on him!

"HEY! SHI- . . SASUKIE! TAME YOUR PET DAMMIT!. . OOF!" as Suigetsu gets pummeled and punched in the stomach. "DAMMIT SASUKE! GET OFF ME YOU BIG PIECE OF SHIT!" as Suigetsu pumped up his arm and punched Juugo off. Suigetsu grabbed the Head Cleaver and held it at the ready. "BRING IT ON SHITSTAIN!"

"HUUU.. HUUU. . HAAHAAA! IM GONNA CRUSH YOU FISHBOY!" shouted Juugo sinking further into his cursed form.

"Stand down Juugo!" Sasuke glared at Juugo with his Sharingan almost instantly calming him down, and his Curse Seal to recede. "You too Suigetsu! You know better than to egg him on like that. Now go kill something to eat."

"Not much point now is there after Stainboy over there and all that shouting. Anything that walks within miles is long gone now." Suigetsu responded as he glared at Juugo.

"I'm sorry Suigetsu. I couldn't stop it." Juugo replied. "Lets try to get some rest while we have a chance. I have a feeling we will be moving tomorrow. Ill stand watch first shift."

"No, you sleep. Ill watch. I cant sleep now anyway." Sasuke replied.

"Fine by me." Suigetsu said as he put down the Head Cleaver and rolled up in his bedroll. "Rest In Peaces crazy bitch! hehe"

Juugo followed and rolled up in his own bedroll. Sasuke stayed up trying to figure out what he needs to change for his next encounter with Itachi. _"Regular Taijutsu is useless with him. He is still too fast and just as skilled if not moreso than I am. I need to utilize the Kusanagi more. If I can get him with a Chidori variation it may give me that advantage that I need. Genjutsu doesn't seem to work so well either. He can see through it before I can do anything useful. At least I know that Tsukuyomi wont work completely, but I need to reverse it faster or he will make his move before I can recover. This time I got lucky that he took his time. If he worked any faster, I would have been fucked. And Amaterasu? How can I avoid that? I don't even know for sure how it works, let alone how to defend against it effectively." _Sasuke thought to himself. For the next couple hours he continued going over combat tactics till he passed out from fatigue.

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(back to current time)

Sasuke laid down in the back of a cart that was being pulled by a group of travelers that happened by. With his head freshly bandaged up, he started to stir.

"Hey dad! I think he's waking up!" shouted a child's voice. "Hey you there! You awake yet?"

"Where am I?" Sasuke groaned and sat up. The throbbing from the wound on his head was unbearable. "What happened?"

"Looks like you fell down and hit your head on a rock. You've been asleep most of the day since we picked up. We are taking you to the nearest village so a medic can take a look at you." said the child sitting next to him.

"Village? What village?" replied Sasuke. _"I cant go to any villages. I don't know if I'm still listed as a criminal anymore. Either way, I cant risk it." _Sasuke thought to himself. "Thanks for your help. I really appreciate it. But I have to go on my own. I have somewhere to go and I have to go alone. I cant risk being seen with you folks. They might.."

"Don't even think it guy!" spoke a fat man that was driving the cart. "You are too beat up and you look like you've been starving for months. I wont have it. We are taking you to a medic."

Sasuke winced at the pain in his head. "I thank you for your concern, but I cant go to a town. I might still be listed. Its just too dangerous for you to be seen with me."

The cart stops and the fat man turns around. "Well if you cant go to a town, at least let us treat and clean that wound on your head again. Its a good time for a meal as well so we will pull aside and prepare a small meal. After you eat a meal, then you can do as you please."

"Thank you. I appreciate it more than you can understand." Sasuke humbly replied.

The group of two men, the child and Sasuke pull the cart to the side and prepare a meal at a makeshift fire pit. The child cleaned and redressed the wound while the men cooked 4 rabbits and some vegetables. A short time alter they all sit down to eat. "Itadakimasu!" cheer the men and child. Sasuke remained quiet but continued to enjoy the mean.

"I thank you for your kindness. I only wish I could repay you. The meal was delicious and thanks for treating my wound. You are good people. But I have to go now. I'm heading toward Konoha. Can you point me in the right direction from here? Wherever here is right now." Sasuke said.

"Sure thing stranger. We were glad to help." the smaller man proceeded to give Sasuke directions. "Konoha is going to be another 2 days walk headed south of here. Just follow this road until you reach the next intersection. Go straight through there and follow the road past the next small town. You shouldn't have to worry about them, its a small town and I doubt there is any sort of enforcement there that might recognize you. Go straight past there and turn north at the next junction. Konoha should just be another days walk from there. Name is Jantou, the big guy here is Ootaru, and the kid there is Inabi. He's the one that cleaned and dressed your wound. What's your name before you leave stranger?"

Sasuke thought about what the other man had said. About using another name. He put shame to the Uchiha name anyway. The last thing he wanted was to give more shame to his family name, but at the same time, his name was all he had left. "Uchiha Sasuke is my name. Blessings to you good people." he turned and said to his rescuers before he bowed and continued back on the road to Konoha.

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(back to Naruto and Kakashi)

Morning had come and the pair had begun their walk back home once again. Even though Naruto hadn't slept a wink, he was wide awake and ready to travel again. He got up before Kakashi so that his son wouldn't know he had stayed awake all night. In fact, part of what kept Naruto up all night was worrying about what Kakashi told him about Neji noticing something wrong with Kakashi's chakra density.

_"Did I pass a part of my burden onto my son?" _Naruto thought to himself as they continued quietly down the road. _"Is it possible that some of the Kyuubi's chakra has been passed down to him? Even though he has my blood, I didn't display that kind of problem with my chakra as a child. I had massive reserves of chakra, and it was very durable chakra, but there was never anything to indicate that my chakra density was unusual. I have noticed that when he does channel chakra, that it is a deeper blue than most people but I passed it up as just a normal variation in a person's chakra. Is it something else altogether? Did he inherit my curse somehow?" _

"You sure are quiet today" Kakashi chimed in, interrupting Naruto's train of thought.

"Hehe, yeah. Just got a lot on my mind. You know, Hokage kinda stuff. Mostly boring stuff that you wouldn't be interested in. Frankly, it doesn't interest me much either." joked Naruto with a big smile.

"So tell me about your time with the toads. What kinda stuff did they teach you? You were there for such a long time Ill bet they taught you all sorts of crazy powerful jutsus." Kakashi excitedly asked his father.

"Well, lemme think a minute." Naruto replied. "It was so long a time and I learned so much I don't know where to start."

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(flashback to a large cave with Gamakichi, Gamabunta, Naruto, and another fighter toad)

"OK, Naruto. Its time to begin your training. First things first, we are going to train you with weapons." Gamabunta thundered.

"BAH! I already know how to use weapons sensei. Why don't you teach me something I don't already know?" puffed Naruto.

"Hehe, not these kind of weapons." replied Gamabunta. "Jiraiya warned us long ago that this day might come so we've had something special waiting for you when this day came."

"Something special? Like how? A special weapon like Sasuke has?" asked Naruto, In truth, he could barely contain his excitement.

"Give them to him Gamakiri. We have to get started on them right away." Gamabunta ordered to the third toad in the room. The third toad walked up to Naruto and handed him a pair of ninjato swords in a single scabbard. The scabbard was one that held the 2 swords parallel so that both handles stuck over the same shoulder. "These will become your own personal weapons to use Naruto. But unfortunately, they are not yet complete. You need to finish them yourself."

Naruto pulled one of the swords from the sheath and looked it up and down. It had a plain black braided handle and a plain black hilt. The blade was straight but dull and otherwise unimpressive. "This looks so ordinary sensei. How are these supposed to be special? And how am I supposed to finish them? I'm not a blacksmith!" Naruto tried to conceal his look of disappointment.

"Don't interrupt me boy! I said you needed to complete them so listen to what I have to tell you before you start asking stupid questions." Gamabunta responded somewhat irritated already. "I know you are no blacksmith, that's not the kind of work you need to do to complete them. Those swords are made of a special material that responds to the chakra 1 and only 1 user once they are finished. Once they are complete, in any other person's hands, they will revert to what you see now. Normal, unimpressive useless ninjato swords."

"So how am I supposed to "finish" these then?" Naruto asked impatiently.

"Dammit boy, I was getting to that. I had hoped that my explanation would have given you a clue, but I see that even after those 2 and a half years with Jiraiya, you are still as dense as ever. What you are going to do is channel your chakra into these blades. And this is no normal chakra channeling. This is a prolonged channeling of chakra. You have to continuously push your chakra into these blades without interruption. This includes your own as well as the Kyuubi chakra."

"But hold on sensei. I thought I wasn't supposed to rely on the Kyuubi's chakra. Captain Yamato told me to rely on my own strength and that using the Kyuubi wasn't using my own abilities." returned Naruto.

"WHAT?! Who is this Yamato fool to tell you not to use your gifts? The Kyuubi is your greatest gift and power. It is something that only 1 person has ever possessed before you. That power is your curse to bear, and your power to use as you see fit." Gamabunta replied. "Besides, if you expect to stand a chance against the people you have against you, then you will need that Kyuubi to draw upon. It just so happens that I can teach you a lot more than Jiraiya had ever hoped when it comes to the Kyuubi and how you can use its chakra."

Naruto stood there holding these swords in his hands only wondering what he would have to do to complete them. _"I wonder if these are like Asuma-sama's chakra daggers. If all I have to do is channel my chakra into them, then this is going to be a snap." _Naruto thought to himself. "OK sensei, what do I need to do?

"I hope you rested well Naruto. This is going to take 2 entire days to finish these swords." Gamabunta spoke as he puffed on his pipe.

"2 DAYS?! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CHANNEL MY CHAKRA CONSTANTLY FOR 2 DAYS?!" Naruto shouted.

"That's why I told you to rest. Trust me Naruto, I wouldn't tell you to do this if I didn't know you that you could." Gamabunta said with full confidence clearly showing in his face. "I know you can do this, you are much stronger than you think you are. You just need to realize that."

Naruto sighed and looked up at Gamabunta's face. Inspired by Gamabunta's confidence, he nodded. "Hai! Where do I do this? I am ready."

"Gamakichi has prepared somewhat of an altar for you to sit on while you do this. Its going to be long and very hard, but you will be more than pleased with the results." the Toad Boss reassured Naruto.

Naruto brought the swords to the altar and sat down cross legged with the swords across his legs. _"OK Naruto, here we go. I have to trust in Gamabunta-sensei. If he believes in me, then I know I can do this." _Naruto took a few deep breathes and places his hands on the blades. As he placed his hands on the scabbard, he started to channel his chakra into the pair of blades.

"Now this is important Naruto. You will need to alternate channeling your own and the Kyuubi chakra in cycles without interruption every hour. If you break the channeling, then you will have to start over. Gamakichi will stay at your side and make sure that you don't screw up." Gamabunta spoke plainly. "As for me, I'm going to take a nap. I'm tired. Ill be back to check on you tomorrow. I know you can do this Naruto."

Gamabunta left the cave and Gamakiri followed. There sat Naruto with Gamakichi at his side. A massive battle had just begun. Naruto against himself and his own will.

(2 days later)

The time was near. Gamabunta had returned to the cave to check on Naruto's progress. Gamakichi was still right at Naruto's side as he had stayed the entire 2 days. Naruto was dripping with sweat and the stress and fatigue was starting to show on his face, yet still, he kept fighting on to keep channeling his chakra into the blades. He was channeling the last of the required Kyuubi chakra into the blades when Gamabunta finally broke the silence.

"OK Naruto, you are almost finished. Any moment now, you will see the blades and scabbard start to flicker with that chakra that you've been infusing these last 2 days. This is the most crucial part. When you start to see them flicker, you absolutely MUST channel all the chakra you can into them or they will burn off the chakra already stored inside, and they will be destroyed." Gamabunta carefully explained.

"You can do it Naruto, I know you can do it!" Gamakichi cheered Naruto on. "You've worked too hard to fail now!"

Moments later, the blades started to flicker. "OK Naruto, now is the time! Concentrate and focus all the chakra that you can into the blades to force the chakra into the weapons! You must keep the chakra from escaping! Give it all you have!" Gamabunta kept instructing Naruto. _"I know this kid can do it. He has to. There is too much on the line for him now." _Gamabunta thought to himself while trying to hide his own excitement.

Naruto grimaced as he tried as hard as he could to channel as much of his chakra as he could into the blades. "HURRR.. !!" he cried as if the task was actually causing him physical pain. _"I can do this! Just a little more! Just a little more! Just a little more! Cant give up now! Dammit fox! Give me more chakra!" _

Suddenly, Naruto was standing before the great gate, staring face to face with the demon inside him.

"_**WHY SHOULD I HELP YOU BY GIVING YOU MORE OF MY CHAKRA, YOU DAMN WHELP!" **_Roared the Kyuubi from inside his cage. _**"YOU'VE CAUSED ME NOTHING BUT IRRITATION EVER SINCE YOUR FATHER SEALED ME INSIDE YOUR VILE HUMAN BODY!" **_

"If you don't do this, then you can consider us both dead. I know you cant stand being sealed inside me. Don't consider it an honor for me either you damned fox. I can feel you burning inside me constantly. You are like a parasite that just keeps living as long as I keep us alive!" Naruto sharply replied.

"_**BIG WORDS FROM A TINY HUMAN THAT I HAVE SAVED SO MANY TIMES! WITHOUT ME, YOU WOULD BE DEAD!" **_thundered the great demon.

"Without you, I would be happy! Don't think you've done me any favors! YOU are the reason my life is as hard as it is! YOU are the reason I have suffered the life of a Jinchuuriki! YOU are the reason I am here, trying to become stronger so I can protect my friends from evil beings like you!" Naruto shouted back with pure rage in his eyes. "YOU. . . You are the reason I don't know my own father and mother." Naruto breathed heavily as he continued to lay his suffering on his demon parasite.

"_**SILENCE BOY!" **_interrupted the enraged demon. _**"YOU, A VILE HUMAN DO NOT SPEAK TO ONE SO GREAT AS ME! YOU SHOULD BE SO GREATFUL THAT I HAVE GIVEN YOU AS MUCH AS I HAVE! DON'T THINK FOR 1 SECOND THAT I OWE YOU ANYTHING. I HAVE GIVEN YOU LIFE! I have..." **_

"NO! You destroyed my LIFE! You and your kind! The Bijuu demons! Evil men that think the same as you, seal your kind inside children like me and Gaara! Creating monsters out of us! Hoping to use us as weapons! Already, Gaara has died because creatures like you were sealed inside him. How can I be grateful for something that only brings misery? Now, you will give me what I need from you, or I will see to it that we both leave this world. My father sealed you inside me for a reason, and with or without your objections, you will help me find that reason and make it so. Now, give me your chakra. . Please." Naruto looked as if the argument had taken all the life he had left. Exhausted, Naruto hung his head or a moment. The Kyuubi snarled and growled, but didn't speak a word. Naruto slowly lifted his head and looked the Kyuubi right in the eyes. "Please, help me."

The Kyuubi only growled for a moment. _**"FINE BOY, I SHALL GIVE YOU MY STRENGTH. BUT KNOW THIS, I WILL BE THE ONE TO RIP THE LIFE FROM YOUR BONES. ONCE THIS SEAL BREAKS, AND IT WILL, I WILL TEAR THE FLESH FROM YOUR BONES WHILE YOU STILL BREATHE. . . NOW GO! **_

As soon as Naruto could turn his back, he was back on the altar channeling the last of his chakra into the blades. _"Dammit fox! I cant hold on much longer!" _he thought as he winced in pain. "AAAAAHH!!! He screamed as the effort was becoming too much to continue. Suddenly, he felt the reinforcement promised by the demon. In only a couple seconds, the demon's cloak had enveloped Naruto's body and 2 tails had formed. Naruto screamed as the demonic chakra burned his skin as the transition occurred.

"Almost there Naruto! Only a few more seconds!" Gamabunta watched closely. "Gamakiri, get ready!"

The third toad stood ready at Naruto's side. He braced himself, knowing what was going to happen. Gamakichi hopped to a corner of the room. At his size, he knew that what was about to happen, was too much for him to withstand.

As Naruto's body continued to radiate the dark red chakra, a third tail formed_. "Oh shit! I cant control any more than that! What the hell fox! You know I cant control another tail!" _he shouted in his own mind. _"I cant let go! I cant lose control! I have to maintain control!" _Just then, a fourth tail appeared! _"I wont let you win this time fox! This is my body and you cant have it!" _he screamed to himself. Naruto forced out his own chakra to keep the demon's chakra under control. "HUUURRRR! HUUURRRAAAAAAHHH!!" he screamed as he forced his own chakra to envelope the Kyuubi chakra and force it into the blades.

"And to think that this boy knows nothing about his lineage, yet he is still able to control the Kyuubi chakra to that extent. Its amazing!" Gamabunta thought silently.

Just as he had managed to force the radiating red chakra into the blades, his own chakra was sucked into the blades in a instant! Absolute silence fell over the room for only a second before Gamakiri jumped across and grabbed Naruto's body, pulling him away from the blades and turning his back to protect the passed out blond! Just as he cleared the altar, a great flash of blue and red chakra burst from the blades and a massive blast wave threw Gamakiri and Naruto against the corner of the room! Gamabunta shielded himself from the blast by holding his arm across his face, but his size kept him in place. Gamakichi was blown out of the room, crashing against the far wall of the hallway. Just as the wave passed, Gamakiri and Gamabunta turned to see if it had been a success. The blades radiated a bright blue and red intertwining chakra. In the flames of chakra, an image appeared. It was an image of Naruto's face in the blue chakra, and an image of the Kyuubi's roaring head! As the images faded upward from the blades, the chakra dissipated and there sat the result of Naruto's labors.

Moments later, Naruto slowly regained consciousness. "Did I do it sensei?" he asked with what little breathe he could muster. Gamakiri lifted him and carried him to the altar to behold what he had created.

"You sure did kid. I'm proud of you." Gamabunta said with a smile. "Now, take up your new weapons. Take up your Uzumaki Demon Fangs."

Naruto steadied himself on Gamakiri's shoulder, and regained his strength to stand. Slowly, he approached the altar and looked at what laid before him. Where before, was only a plain leather scabbard, now there sat a pair of swords that words cannot do justice to describe. Now, there sat a red scabbard covered with ornately engraved metallic plates layered over each other. Where before was only a pair of plain black threaded handled, now there were a dark red and a dark blue handle, each braided perfectly along the entire length of the handle. At each end, was a golden cap. On the blue blade, was an image of the symbol for wind surrounded with intricate seal markings. On the red blade, was the symbol for fire wrapped in the same intricate seal markings. Naruto looked up at Gamabunta as if requesting permission. Gamabunta smiled and nodded his great head in approval. Naruto reached out and grabbed hold of the scabbard and wrapped the strap over his right shoulder and under his left arm. Just as he removed his hands from the strap, a bright light flashed and the plates that coated the scabbard disappeared and reappeared on the back of Naruto's hands, forearms and biceps, creating plated gauntlets for defense. The remaining plates reappeared on the front of Naruto's thighs and shins. Amazed at what was happening, Naruto reached for the handles of the swords over his right shoulder. As he grasped the handles, he could feel a sensation that he recognized before. It felt like when he grasped the Hatake Tanto for the first time. He pulled the blades from the scabbard and looked in awe at the great blades. Running halfway up each blade were ornate etchings resembling the elemental and seal markings on the butt of each handle. As he looked along the length of the blades, he could see a faint glow along the edges of each blade. A blue glow on the blue blade, and a red glow on the red blade.

"Each of these blades contains the power of the elements that you have infused into them. They are the elements made manifest in physical form." Gamabunta spoke.

"Well, the air I understand because its my elemental affinity. But the fire? I've never been able to manipulate fire before! Where did the fire element come from?" Naruto asked.

Gamabunta sighed disappointed that Naruto hadn't figured it out himself. "The fire element was from the Kyuubi chakra. The Kyuubi is the Demon of fire Naruto."

Naruto had no response but to stare at the great blades that he had created. Just then, Naruto started to feel dizzy and collapsed to the floor, holding tight to each blade as he fell. Gamakiri picked up Naruto and carried him out of the room. Gamabunta could only smile at Naruto's success. "Hehe, I didn't think he could do it his first try!" he chuckled thunderously as he puffed on his pipe.

"HEY! What happened?" Gamakichi asked as he awkwardly hopped into the room. "Did it work?"

"Yep. It sure did. I'm gonna have fun with this kid." Gamabunta laughed as he turned and walked out of the great cave. "This is gonna be fun."

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(back to the road)

"And that's where I got my swords, the Uzumaki Demon Fangs." Naruto said as he smiled at Kakashi.

"But where are they?" Kakashi asked.

"You see this seal marking on the back of my left hand?" Naruto replied as he moved his hand into Kakashi's sight. "This is where they are. When I need them, I only have to summon them and they appear in my hand."

"I wanna get swords like yours some day. Can I have a pair of swords like that dad?" Kakashi excitedly asked.

"Hopefully, you will never need them son. Hopefully, there will never be a need for them." Naruto quietly replied.

Kakashi was bright enough to understand his father's answer. He could only smile, look forward, and continue down the road at his father's side.

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Author's notes. Hope you are enjoying the story so far. As of yet, I'm having sort of a brain fart and not exactly sure how to get to Chapter5. But I will promise that I wont make you wait long. Believe me when I say that the best is yet to come, and I want to put it into words for you. Now I'm going to go ahead and stare at a blank screen and try to think of a title for Chapter 4.


	4. Chapter 4 The Test

-1Well folks, here is Chapter4. Same old disclaimer. I'm not Kishi and don't own Naruto. So far, this was the hardest chapter to write because I kind of have a hard time writing Sasuke's story. But once I got started, it just kind of kept itself going. Sorry for the delayed release, had some issues to deal with before I could release it. So here it is, Chapter 4. Enjoy.

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Chapter 4 - The Test

"_How far did they take me I wonder. Did they actually take me in the wrong direction? Maybe that would be a good thing. The thought of going back to Konoha scares me worse than Itachi ever did! Of course, hatred was a much more prevalent emotion than fear back then. If I feared him, them I would have never been able to fight him on equal terms. It was a single goal. So simple. Who would've thought that those days were so much simpler then these days?" _Sasuke thought to himself as he continued down the road.

Several hours had passed since Sasuke's departure from the group of strangers that took care of him. Occasionally he was able to get his bearings by asking passers-by where on the road he was at the moment. His head wound continued to throb for some while after leaving the group. Eventually, he managed to manipulate his chakra enough to shut out the pain in a manner that would resemble putting himself under the affects of a genjutsu. Even though most of his combat abilities were taken along with his eyes, he still knew how the body worked.

"_A traveler! I can hear someone approaching. I should try to get my bearings back again. Hopefully this town is nearby." _he thought. "Hello? Are you there?" he asked, trying to get a response. "Excuse me, but could you help me a moment? I'm afraid that I don't really know exactly where I am at the moment. Could you tell me if there is a town or village up ahead?" he asked to whoever's footsteps he could hear approaching.

"Yeah. There's a town just another couple miles in the direction you are traveling." answered a voice. "Just keep moving the way you are friend."

"Thank you." Sasuke answered.

"So where are ya goin friend?" asked the voice. "You traveling all by yourself?

Even though Sasuke was somewhat caught off guard by this unknown man's interest, he answered anyway, "I'm headed to Konoha to meet an old friend. And yes, I'm alone. I don't have any traveling companions anymore."

"Aah, I see." the voice answered. "So what happened to your head? Why are you all bandaged up like that? Wraps on your head and eyes? Did you get robbed by bandits or did ya pick the wrong fight?"

Sasuke almost laughed at the irony of the man asking if he had picked the wrong fight. However, even though he was growing somewhat irritated and suspicious of the unknown man's continued line of questions, he answered. "I took a bad spill a day ago. Got picked up by some strangers that helped me bandage the wound. I haven't run across any bandits though. You shouldn't have any problems for at least the next day's walk."

"The same for you. In fact I haven't seen anyone else on this road in the last few hours, so I wouldn't expect you to see any bandits up ahead." the man replied. "Nope, it's just you and me on this road."

The ever so slight change in the man's tone did not escape Sasuke's attention. "It would seem so." Sasuke said. "So how did you plan to do it? Were you just going to knock me out by hitting me in the head with a stone? Or perhaps a club? Maybe you were planning on burying a dagger in my stomach like a real killer. Is that it? You were going to kill a blind man and steal his possessions? No, you aren't a killer, you are a coward. Now go and forget that you've seen me before you regret your life. It's not worth it."

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(Flashback to a couple weeks after the encounter with Itachi)

"What are we doing Sasuke?" asked Suigetsu. "It's been almost 3 weeks and we don't have shit. Even Juugo's animals haven't given us any useful information. If we don't do something to occupy the time, I'm gonna lose my freakin mind. I can't even carry a conversation with you guys! Big stain over here hardly ever speaks and you are so occupied with waiting for your brother, that it's like talking to a tree!"

"You speak too much Suigetsu." Sasuke replied. "Try silence, they say it's golden."

"HAA.. HEHAAAHAA!" laughed Suigetsu. "Was that an attempt at humor? From you? That's precious. HAAAAHAAA.."

"It wasn't a joke, it was a suggestion. Now I suggest you heed it before I decide that having your sword arm at my side isn't worth the expense of my hearing and patience." Sasuke said without looking at Suigetsu.

"Psh, fine fine. Ill just talk to myself. I got pretty good at it in those years I spent in Orochimaru's bubble chamber." Suigetsu joked before remaining silent.

"You aren't the only one that spent time talking to yourself." Juugo said. "I'll bet that you didn't have to try and keep your other half bottled up though."

The 3 men kept walking down the road, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. They had no particular destination at the time but as it were, they were nearing the southeast border of the Fire Country.

"HEY! I have an idea! Do you guys know where we are?" Suigetsu broke the silence. "We are within maybe 2 or 3 days travel of my home!"

The 3 travelers stopped as Sasuke and Juugo listened to Suigetsu. "We aren't here for your sightseeing Suigetsu. We can't risk going to someplace like the Hidden Mist Village. We'll be identified."

"Psh, you underestimate me Sasuke." Suigetsu replied. "I can guarantee that the village will get behind us once we get there. I may have been gone for about 5 or 6 years, but there's no way that they forgot the Prodigy of Murder! Heheheehee!"

"Hmm… Will I be able to train uninterrupted there?" asked Sasuke.

"Absolutely! Shouldn't be a problem to find a place to train. Actually, I have a feeling that the Seven Swordsmen might take an interest in you. Especially when they find out that you are after Uchiha Itachi since he teams with Hoshigaki Kisame. The Land Of Water has a bone to pick with that bastard. I'd even bet that they'd be willing to train you if it meant that Kisame might die as a result."

Sasuke thought it over for a moment. "The affairs of the Mist Village are none of mine. I am after Itachi, nothing else."

"I know, I know! But even you said that you were going to need more training for your next encounter with Itachi. You let me deal with Kisame when it comes to that time. I'm still pissed that our own fight with Kisame got cut short when they ditched. It's a perfect option for us Sasuke. Kisame wouldn't dare set foot in the Water Country. His face is on every wall, and since Kisame can't go there, Itachi isn't likely to go there without his partner. That will give you all the time to train that you need without having to look over your shoulder."

"It sounds like a good plan to me Sasuke. He has a point. We could all use the chance to get some training in while we are there. I'm still rusty from being locked in that cell for all those years, and judging from Suigetsu's performance against Kisame, he could use the training too." Juugo said.

"You worry about yourself! I'm just fine! You tell me that you are gonna be in good shape after being locked in a tube, in liquid form for years." Suigetsu scowled back at Juugo.

"Fine, we will go there. Lead the way Suigetsu." Sasuke ordered.

"Hehe, Ok then. I'm coming home Mist Village!" cheered Suigetsu as they walked toward the eastern sea.

2 days later as Suigetsu predicted, the team arrived at the borders of the Land of Water. They took a boat from a small port town on the end of the southeast peninsula that bordered the Fire Country. They arrived at another small port town at the southwest shoreline. Much to Sasuke's surprise, they arrived and left the town with no incident. It took another days walking and boat travel to arrive at the gates of the Hidden Mist village. The village itself actually sat in the middle of a marshy area occupied by a dense forest of narrow stemmed trees that rose high into the sky, to create a canopy that hardly let any sunlight pass through. Combined with the dense fog that permanently filled the air, it created a very dark and gloomy appearance. The majority of the land around the village was actually underwater. The team had to use a gondola to move to the gates of the village. Juugo commented that if not for the fact that Suigetsu was from the village, there would have been no reason to suspect that there was actually a village in such an area. As they arrived at the huge blue gates to the village, Suigetsu took the lead and pounded on the massive doors.

"HEY! OPEN THE DOORS! YOUR FAVORITE SON HAS RETURNED!" he shouted with some pride and confidence in himself and his reputation.

A masked man appeared at the top of the tower overlooking the gates. "AND WHO EXACTLY WOULD THAT BE?!" he shouted back.

"ITS ME! HOZUKI SUIGETSU! NOW OPEN THE GATES GODDAMMIT!" he shouted in response. "This is normal here. The country is so torn up by constant civil wars and internal strife all the time that the Mizukage has ordered the gates to be kept closed. The old man is kinda paranoid, and for good reason with all the assassination attempts." he reassured the rest of the team.

A couple long minutes later, the gates opened and the team was allowed entry. As soon as the boat had crossed the gates, they were immediately closed behind them. They arrived to a village that had been built completely above the water. A complex series of docks, stairs, and ramps connected all the village buildings to each other. Suigetsu navigated the boat toward the nearest dock for landing. Not a moment after they stepped foot on the dock, they were greeted by a team of ninjas ready for combat.

"Hey hey hey! Hold your weapons boys! We aren't here to kill anyone!" Suigetsu said with his hands in the air.

"Well, that's a funny thing for the kid once known as the Prodigy of Murder to say. How can I be sure it's actually you?" an unidentified voice from the line of ninjas responded. "Especially since the man that speaks carries the Head Cleaver of Momochi Zabuza."

"Is that Hozuki Rokusa?" responded Suigetsu.

A man walked out from the line carrying a massive dai-katana sword affixed to his back. He wore the forehead protector of the Mist Village around his neck. He was a tall man with a very muscular build whose skin was the same pale blue as Suigetsu, and he had similar facial characteristics, most obvious were the sharp pointed teeth that showed when he opened his mouth to speak. He had long white hair tied in a braid that ran halfway down his back. He didn't wear any shirt, only the strap from the dai-katana scabbard crossing his chest. His pants were very similar to the striped high waisted pants worn by Zabuza. Sasuke recognized his dress as such and glared slightly at the sight of the man before him.

"AAH! My brother Suigetsu! I was afraid you had forgotten your roots!" the man chimed in gleefully.

"Well I wasn't gone this entire time completely of my own will ya know." Suigetsu answered. I've spent the last 3 years in a puddle, trapped in a glass tube as a subject for Orochimaru's twisted experiments. Bastard caught me sleeping under a goddamn tree while I was out hunting for my mark. Still don't know if that old fucker is dead or not."

"Well whatever the case, welcome home brother. You're looks haven't changed a bit! Even YOU should have grown up a little in that time." Rokusa teased Suigetsu as he threw his arm around his long lost little brother.

"Yeah, well sitting in a puddle has done wonders for my complexion. You should try it sometime." Suigetsu joked back

"HAA! You know you were the only one that could ever do that. So, what brings you back anyway? And who are your friends? That one with the black hair has been burning a hole in my head ever since I stepped out of the line. And that big blonde guy? Well he's just a big fucker ain't he?" Rokusa joked with a smile.

"This is my team. That's Uchiha Sasuke and Juugo. Sasuke is the one that set me free from that damned tube after he killed Orochimaru. We are on a mission of sorts. He's looking to end his brother, Uchiha Itachi's life. And after the last encounter, we figured out that we needed some more training before we made another attempt at it. I was hoping for a little help from the Seven Swordsmen." Suigetsu explained. "And of course, you know who Itachi travels with."

"Whoa there little brother! We don't mess around with that rabble from the Leaf Village. You know that!" Rokusa said as he turned around to smile at Sasuke. "The Uchiha is gonna have to die."

The line of ninjas readied themselves as Sasuke stepped back and braced himself for a fight. "Suigetsu! What is this shit?" he said with anger in his voice.

Juugo stepped back himself and took a defensive stance.

"Might as well kill the big guy as well. I don't know him." Rokusa ordered to the line.

"Hey hey hey!" shouted Suigetsu. "He has nothing to do with the Leaf anymore. He left his village about 3 years ago to train under Orochimaru. In fact, I think he hates the Leaf now more than any of us. The only thing on his mind is revenge against his brother. Besides, he set me free, so I owe him my life. I have no choice but to stand against you, if it means you stand against him."

Juugo was caught completely off guard by the loyalty that Suigetsu showed toward Sasuke, and it showed plainly in his face.

"And I hate to admit it brother, but you might have a hard time killing that kid. He is one talented killer." Suigetsu spoke.

"Hehe." Rokusa laughed. "Well any friend of my little brother's, is a friend of mine, and a friend of the Mist. Stand down boys, I don't think we will have any problems with these guys. Well first things first, you need to see the Mizukage before anything else."

"Of course. Wouldn't have it any other way." Suigetsu replied.

The team, accompanied by Suigetsu's brother Rokusa, walked along the series of docks to the tower at the end of town. Suigetsu and Rokusa talked the entire time, catching up on years of lost time. It seems that while Suigetsu was gone, his brother was accepted as one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, the elite warriors of the Mist Village. It showed clearly in his walk, that he was a true elite in this village. He had a definite air of superiority about him that identified him as a man of tremendous skill.

"So when are you gonna take your test little brother? Surely you still wanna become a member of the Seven?" Rokusa asked his brother.

"Hehe, I dare you to line up anyone to test my skills brother." Suigetsu replied. "You should be so lucky that I would join!"

"HAA! Same old Suigetsu. Still full of himself. Good to see that some things don't change." Rokusa answered back. "I'll recommend to the Mizukage that you be tested immediately."

A short while later, the team stood in front of the Mizukage in his tower. They couldn't see his face because he sat behind a closed veil. Rokusa filled the Mizukage in on the team's situation.

"As far as Suigetsu is concerned, you will be tested for entry into the Seven Swordsmen as soon as it can be arranged. I know where your loyalties lie. As far as the other 2 are concerned, I'm sure the Uchiha is a very skilled shinobi from the fact that you say that he faced Uchiha Itachi and survived, but the matter of his loyalties lies in question. The same goes for the big one named Juugo. Their loyalties must be tested if they hope to remain here and receive our training." spoke the Mizukage from behind his veil. "For now, I have no choice but to have the 2 of them held captive until tomorrow when we will test them. Rest up; you'll all need it if you hope to survive."

Early the next day, Juugo and Sasuke were woken up in their cell by a pair of Jounin ninjas. The jailhouse was a building adjacent to the Mizukage tower. It was a short and quiet walk for Juugo and Sasuke. Neither of their escorts spoke a word on the way. They walked past several shops on the way, all of which were closed.

"What is going on here? Why is everything closed?" Juugo asked the escorts. There was no answer. "What do you think is going on here Sasuke? It's not so early in the morning that every shop here should be closed."

"I don't know Juugo, but I have a feeling that we are about to find out. I don't like it either." Sasuke replied.

"Quiet back there prisoners!" one of the escorts chimed up without turning around.

The mention of the word "prisoner" made both Juugo and Sasuke very uneasy. It showed plainly on their faces. _"I don't like this one bit. There was never any mention of being held prisoner here, especially in a Village like the Mist. They are a vicious people and their practices of murder are commonly known. And they took all our weapons and supplies, if this turns into a conflict, we won't stand a chance here." _Sasuke thought to himself.

Sasuke could tell from looking at Juugo that he was having the same thoughts. Sasuke started looking carefully around trying to familiarize himself with the village layout in case an escape attempt was going to become necessary.

"Hey! Sasuke!" shouted a voice from a short distance away. Through all the dense mist, it was hard to make out who it belonged to.

"Is that Suigetsu?" Juugo whispered to Sasuke. "It sounded like him. Only a person like him could sound happy in a place like this."

"Hey Sasuke! Wait up!" the voice repeated. Seconds later Suigetsu appeared through the dense fog from ahead of the group. "Aaaahhh, Its good to be home isn't it?"

"Maybe for you. I'm sure the fact that you can bottle the air around here just pleases you to no end." Sasuke replied.

"You got that right! Everywhere else is just too damn dry. Makes my skin itch." Suigetsu joked. "So how was the stay at the inn? Sorry about the fact that you had to stay in the jailhouse. It's a necessary precaution around here. They don't take kindly to strangers, especially ones from the Leaf."

"Hmph." Sasuke puffed. "I guess, but Id feel better about it if they would give our weapons back. I thought you said that Id be able to train here."

"Sure you can. Once I pass my test with the Seven Swordsmen tomorrow, Ill see to it that the brothers help train you. But you need to earn the trust of the village and the Mizukage first. I'm sure you have a good idea what will happen if you fail. But I don't think that'll be a problem for you." Suigetsu said.

"What is this test anyway?" asked Juugo. "What are we going to have to do?"

"Cant say as I know." answered Suigetsu. "I've been gone so long I couldn't even imagine what the old man has in store for you. Rokusa wouldn't even say."

A few minutes later, the group arrived at the entrance to the arena. It was a huge round red and white building, with a single dock that lead up to its entrance. Whereas most buildings in the village were held up by a series of braces, the arena was actually built solid all the way into the water. Because of the fog, it was impossible to see into the water far enough to see how deep it went. Rokusa opened the red gate and walked out to greet the group.

"Oye, Suigetsu, you come with me." he said. "You two, you go with these guys. They will take you to where you need to be."

"OK, catch ya later boys. Good luck." Suigetsu said as he joined his brother and they walked into the main entrance.

"Follow us." said one of the escorts. "The entrance for the participants is around the back." The group turned to walk around the building and just as he said, there was another gate. This gate was much heavier and reinforced with steel brackets and heavy hinges. It also had a team of four guards stood in front of the door. "I'm sure you can understand the need for the heavier door and security. Many of the people that go in this door, don't exactly go in voluntarily."

"Hehe. Or leave alive for that matter." joked the other escort. Both escorts grinned wickedly as they looked back at Sasuke and Juugo. "These are the comba.. erm.. participants. Open the gate."

Two of the guards turned around, pulled the massive lock bars from the door, and pulled it open. The escorts proceeded inside, followed by Sasuke and Juugo. As soon as they passed through the gates, they were closed behind them. The pair could hear the locks slam shut from the other side. Inside the dimly lit hallway, the fog was even denser than it was outside. Combined with the overpowering smell of blood, to say that the atmosphere was unnerving would be a severe understatement. The group proceeded down a long flight of stairs into what could only be described as a prison cellblock. As they walked, the pair could see that some of the cells actually had people inside. None of them spoke a word as the group passed by. There was a guard stationed at each side of the hallway every fourth cell. The discipline of the guards was clear as crystal in their cold and expressionless faces.

"Ok, Uchiha, you go in here." one of the escorts spoke as he reached to open one of the cell doors. "

Juugo looked back at Sasuke as he started to walk away toward the black door at the end of the hall. He had a worried look on his face.

"You will be fine Juugo. Do whatever they tell you." Sasuke spoke to Juugo before he walked into the small damp cell which was immediately closed and locked behind him.

"You would do well to keep your mouth shut while in here. Otherwise, you might force the guards to have some fun with your corpse." warned one of the escorts with a laugh.

Juugo nodded and followed the escorts in front of him. He walked up a tall flight of stairs toward the door. When they reached the top of the stairs, one of the men standing guard formed a couple hand signs and spoke. "**Khi**" performing some sort of jutsu that had no visible affect. Juugo heard the sound of the door unlatching from the other side as the door slowly opened. Juugo slowly walked through until the escort pushed him from behind, through the doorway. The door slammed shut behind him.

"_What the fuck is going on here? What did you get us into Suigetsu? Damn you!. I should have known better than to trust you and come here." _Sasuke thought to himself as he sat down on the wet bench in the cell. The dead silence, the scent of blood, the thick air, and uncertainty made Sasuke as nervous as he had been, since just before he threw the chakra blade through the wall at Orochimaru.

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Author's notes: OK, first things first. This chapter is somewhat due to change. It is under review currently, and may be updated soon, but I wanted to get it out yesterday, so I'm putting this draft up anyway. First thing you will notice is that it's a Sasuke-only story. This was the unexpected result. Once I got going, I wasn't sure of where a good break would be, so I just kept going until I realized I had a full chapter already. Worry not Naruto fans, he is next. Coming soon, Chapter 5 - The Real Training Begins.


	5. Chapter 5 The Real Training Begins

OK, here it finally is, Chapter5. (Insert disclaimer that says I'm not Kishi and don't own Naruto or profit from this work of fanfiction) Seeing as Chapter4 ended up being dedicated to Sasuke, Chapter5 here will be dedicated to Naruto. So please enjoy Chapter5 - The Real Training Begins.

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Chapter 5 - The Real Training Begins

"So when do I get to see your swords?" asked Kakashi, sounding kind of annoyed that his father wouldn't grant his request.

Naruto laughed at his son's repeated begging to see his trademark weapons. "Well you sure are persistent aren't you?"

"Of course I am! I'm a young shinobi and your own son to boot! How can you even remotely be surprised? Now whe.." he started to yell before Naruto put his hand in front of Kakashi's mouth to silence him.

"Ssh. Be quiet a moment Kakashi." Naruto whispered as he slowly lifted his hand from his son's mouth and stopped in his tracks. Clearly, he had sensed the chakra of someone in the vicinity. "You see them?"

Kakashi understood the situation immediately and without explanation. "Byakugan" he whispered as he made the appropriate seal in front of his face. The veins around his eyes swelled and his eyes turned the pale white that they were famous for. Quickly, he scanned the environment around him. For miles the road stretched in each direction, surrounded on both sides by dense forest. _"Right there! Five of them, each armed with a different weapon. I can't see any forehead protectors or Hidden Village markings on any of them. They are probably roaming bandits. Whoa, two of those guys are pretty big! Hehe, boy did they pick the wrong people to mess with! How could they not recognize my father? The Great FireFox of Konoha! The Fire Shadow of the Leaf! The Yellow-haired Devil! The Hellfire Fox! The.. Oops" he thought before he remembered the situation. "Oh yeah!" _

He raised five fingers to indicate the number of enemies. He raised two fingers and made a fist to indicate that there were two large men, and raised three fingers and touched his fingertips to his thumb to indicate that the other three were of average size. Then he pointed to the left to indicate the direction of the enemies.

Naruto nodded that he understood the message and put his hand in front of Kakashi, pushing his son behind him to place himself in the line of danger. "Looks like you finally get your wish, but be careful and stay back Kakashi." he whispered to his son. He removed his jacket and handed it to Kakashi to hold. He then bit his right thumb, pressed it to his palm, closed his eyes, and made a short combination of five different hand seals. Boar, Dog, Tiger, Monkey, and Ram were the seals he made with a flash of his hands. "Summoning Jutsu: Uzumaki DemonFox Fangs." he spoke before pressing his right palm to the back of his left hand. A puff of smoke appeared as he lifted his right hand that now held the plated scabbard with the twin blades within. Slowly and silently he pulled the strap over his right shoulder and under his left arm. With a flash, the plates reappeared on his hands, arms, shins, and thighs. Quickly he pulled the swords from the scabbard with his right hand holding the red blade, and the left hand holding the blue blade. Immediately, he took a wide defensive stance with his left foot forward, holding the blue blade sideways in front of him, and the red blade pointed straight forward held over his head.

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(Flashback to the training cave)

Blades clashed and clanged as the two opponents squared off against one another. Naruto was fighting against a masked opponent that was dressed in full black ninja garb. Naruto swung from the side with his left sword only to be stopped by the left blade of his opponent. Immediately after, he brought his right blade up to deliver an overhead strike, but was once again easily blocked by the other shinobi. Sparks flew as the four blades ground against each other, each fighter unwilling to give an inch. The strain showed in Naruto's sweat-soaked face, but the black ninja still showed no signs of fatigue. Naruto grunted as he threw a right kick to the midsection of his opponent. Effortlessly, the black ninja jumped back and performed a backflip, landing squarely on his feet, ready to resume combat immediately.

"_Dammit, nothing works with this guy. I can't even touch him!" _Naruto thought to himself as he pushed himself just to breathe. _"He's too fast and he reads my movements before I can even make them!" _Naruto jumped back and slammed his blades into the ground. He made the Ram seal and shouted, "**Kage Buunshin No-Jutsu**" Two puffs of smoke appeared beside him as he pulled the blades from the ground. Naruto looked to each side at each clone as each responded with a nod and started to circle around the shinobi. Naruto rushed forward with blades at the ready and jumped to launch an attack from the air against his opponent. As the black shinobi readied himself for the aerial attack, one of the clones launched his own attack, swinging low as he swept his blades along the ground to force the opponent into the air. The shinobi easily leapt just high enough to avoid the swords as he kicked behind him and landed the hit squarely on the jaw of the rear clone, launching himself with a flip forward behind his aerial attacker. The clone disappeared in a puff of smoke. No sooner did he land before the shinobi put both blades opposing each other straight up and down to block the double backhanded, cleaving attack of the other clone. He braced his back foot against the stone floor and made a scissor-like pushing attack against his opponent's blades, forcing through the attack and piercing the chest of the clone.

With a puff of smoke, the clone disappeared. Before the smoke dissipated, Naruto slid underneath the smoke cover and launched a kick from beneath that landed in the stomach of the black shinobi, propelling him upward. Naruto slammed the right blade into the ground and using his remaining momentum; he flipped his body over backward and landed his right foot on the handle of the planted blade. As he flipped his left hand to reverse his grasp, he launched himself from the handle using the bend of the blade for the additional lift. As he launched himself into the air, he pulled his left hand back to swing at the shinobi's legs. Before the attack could land, the black shinobi recovered control and swept the attack to the side with his right blade just as Naruto grabbed hold of his ankle and pulled himself toward his opponent's torso. As he tried to slam the butt of his sword into the chest of the shinobi, a hard blow landed on the top of his head. The ninja in black slammed the butt of his own sword into Naruto's thick skull, stopping Naruto's attack before it finished.

Naruto plummeted to the hard stone floor, landing flat on his back and hitting the back of his head on the stone. The ninja, dressed in black landed on his feet, straddling Naruto's limp body as he pointed his blades toward Naruto's neck.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" thundered the voice of Gamabunta from the entrance of the cave.

The black shinobi slid his Katanas into the criss-crossed scabbards behind his back, and spun on his left heel to turn toward the massive Frog Boss. He clasped his hands together and bowed to the great toad. "**Henge**" he shouted as his true form revealed itself. It was Gamakiri, the toad swordsman. He leaned down to pick up Naruto's beaten and bruised body and carried him to the pillow-laden stone altar. Carefully, he laid his body on the pillows. A few short minutes later, Naruto regained consciousness and slowly picked himself up off the altar. He rubbed the bump on the top of his head and winced from the pain. With a great deal of effort, he swung his legs over the edge of the altar and slumped over to turn toward Gamabunta. Ashamed of his failure, he lifted his head to look at the great toad. Barely able to breathe, he forced out the words that had been on his mind the entire exercise. "It's been two months of constant sword training now and I still can't even lay a hand on him yet. He is just way too fast and he can anticipate my moves before I can even make them."

"Naruto-kun." spoke up Gamakiri with a deep rumbling voice. "You telegraph your moves too easily with your body movements. I can tell what you are going to do with your arms and legs by reading the reaction that your muscle tension causes to your body. When you begin a swing with your right arm, it pulls back your right shoulder before your arm begins its swing. When you ready a kick with your left leg, it pulls back on your left hip causing a twisting motion to your body. When you…" as he was interrupted by Naruto's outburst.

"I Know that!" he shouted back to Gamakiri.

"Naruto!" thundered Gamabunta. "Silence yourself and listen to what Gamakiri is telling you! Obviously you don't know, otherwise you would have taken steps to prevent such carelessness! Such an attitude makes for a poor pupil that is unwilling to learn that which he thinks he already knows. You should be so honored to be taught by such a great swordsman. Until you accept the fact that you are his inferior, you will never grow to actually be his better."

"But if I could use the DemonFox swords, I could.." reacted Naruto before he was cutoff.

Gamabunta roared, "If you can't handle these conventional swords, then you have no hope of being able to handle the Fox Fangs. If you tried to wield those great swords now, you would level this entire structure, killing everyone inside, including yourself!" The great Frog Boss sighed and puffed on his pipe. "You are not nearly ready enough for those."

Knowing the truth in Gamabunta's words, Naruto hung his head low. "There has to be a faster way to learn. I don't have time to learn like this. It would take years to become strong enough to hold my own against Gamakiri, much less the likes of those that are out there. How can I protect…" his voice began to fade as started to feel dizzy. "I need to.. I need to get str… I need…." his words faded as he slumped over and began to fall forward. Before he landed on the stone floor below, Gamakiri caught his limp body and lifted him over his shoulder.

"He needs rest Gamabunta-sama. We've been training very hard for nearly 20 hours straight already and his body can't take any more right now. And for that matter, I need the rest as well." he said as he headed toward the doorway.

Gamabunta nodded in agreement and puffed on his pipe as he followed Gamakiri and Naruto out of the cave. Gamakiri carried Naruto to his room and laid his lifeless body down on his bed in his room, just down the hall. Carefully he pulled the sheets over Naruto and tucked the 15 year old boy in. He placed his hand over Naruto's head and whispered in his ear, "We will find a way Naruto; we will find a way to make you strong enough to protect your loved ones."

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"I chose to spare your life at nothing more than a whim of mine… Come to think of it, isn't becoming Hokage a dream of yours? If you had the time to go around looking for me, you would have been better off training. Don't you think.. Naruto? That's why this time.. You're going to end up losing your life, all at a whim of mine." Sasuke spoke into Naruto's ear as he hugged Naruto with his left arm.

"Like there's any chance someone who can't save a friend could become Hokage. Don't you think… Sasuke?

Just then, Sasuke pulled the blade from its sheath and swung to plunge it into Naruto's back when Sai blocked the move.

(Back to Naruto's bedroom)

"I have to… I have to… I HAVE TO GET STRONGER!" he shouted as he jumped out of his slumber. He rubbed the back of his neck as he felt the sweat running down from his hairline. "I need to improve. Otherwise I have no hope of ever getting him back. Or becoming Hokage and protecting my friends.

Slowly he stood up and realized that he was in desperate need of a shower. He removed his Gi and headed toward the shower in the bathroom across the small room. He turned the knobs of the shower and waited for the water to come to the right temperature. He stepped in and let the steaming hot water run down his back as he lowered his head beneath the showerhead. _"Thank Kami that the Kyuubi heals my wounds so quickly otherwise I would be completely black and blue right now."_ he thought to himself. _"How am I supposed to get any better with my sword skills? The Shadow clones disperse as soon as they get hit so I can't learn anything from them. And Gamakiri can't maintain shadow clones long enough to train in greater numbers."_ Gamakiri's words echoed in his mind as he tried to figure out how he would be able to avoid his greatest flaw in weapons combat. _"I can't feel the movements that he was talking about myself so I can't correct the flaw." _

Suddenly an idea came to Naruto. "If I can't feel the motions of my body that he can see, maybe my clones can see the flaw!"

He didn't even turn off the water before he jumped out of the shower and grabbed a clean black gi off the shelf and ran down the hallway. He slid on the pants and pulled over the shirt as he tied his belt while running down the hallway.

"I figured it out!" he shouted as he slammed on Gamakiri's door.

"EH?" a voice shouted from the other side of the door. "Go away!!"

"I need to train!" Naruto shouted at the closed door and the groaning voice beyond.

"Go away!" was the only response.

Naruto considered that it wouldn't do any good to keep demanding assistance. Instead, he did something he rarely takes the time to do. He considered how he could think of a way to appeal to his audience. In true Naruto fashion, he figured out how. "I'm gonna kick your ass you old toad!" Naruto held his ear to the door and listened for the response.

"Why you little.. Fifteen minutes! You better show me something or this time I'm not gonna hold back!"

Exactly the reaction Naruto had hoped for.

Fifteen minutes later just as promised, Gamakiri walked through the massive entrance to the cave, still pulling tight the belt to his jacket. "What the…" he muttered as he wiped his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing double from his barely opened eyes.

"You ready to train now?" asked Naruto as he drew out his swords.

"So you think that just adding a lot more clones, that you can beat me? I've already told you that your faults lie in your commitment to a single choice and how you telegraph your intentions so easily. You honestly think that by adding another hundred clones to fight will change that? You clones are just as predictable as you are." Gamakiri grunted. "I'm going back to sleep." as he started to turn back toward the comfort of his bed" before Naruto interrupted.

"Oh these guys? They aren't here to fight, they are here to learn." Naruto replied with a clever grin on his face.

"Eh?" was Gamakiri's simple and somewhat confused reaction.

"You said that my flaws lay in how I telegraphed my actions too easily. Well I realized that I can't feel these actions because they are a natural reaction to my body's movements." as Naruto began his explanation. "You know how the Kage Bunshin works. Anything that the clones experience, I assimilate when they disperse." Naruto mentally gave credit to his fallen sensei Kakashi for those words. "Well, these guys are here to watch every move and every twitch that both you and I make. When I assimilate their memories, I will be able to see how I am failing and learn how to correct these faults."

Gamakiri turned around and smirked, impressed that this boy, somewhat of a simpleton, had figured out such a way to learn something that took decades to master himself. "OK Naruto-kun. Let's say that I'm intrigued." as he grabbed a pair of sheathed swords and strapped them to his back. "Let's see what you can do now. **Henge**"

(1 week later)

"HUURRRAAH!" shouted Naruto as he landed a hit with the butt of both blades to the back of the black-clad shinobi's head several feet above the ground. He then feigned a kick from his left leg that the ninja moved to block with his arms, before Naruto pulled the head of his victim into his real attack. A flying knee straight to the jaw of his unsuspecting victim. The impact from his knee sent the ninja flying upward as Naruto grabbed both ankles of his opponent and threw him toward the ground with great force. The impact against the ground alone would be enough to incapacitate most shinobi, but Naruto didn't hesitate to flip over in midair, and create a Kage Bunshin to hurl himself toward the ground. Naruto landed with a hard knee to the stomach, knocking the wind from the ninja below as he immediately followed by crossing his blades across the throat of his victim, pinning the hapless shinobi to ground.

Panting and dripping with sweat from exertion, Naruto added the words that added salt to the wound in the swordsman's pride. "Is that good enough?"

Gamakiri coughed and choked to regain his breathe as Naruto stood up and extended his arm. Gamakiri reached for the helping hand as Naruto pulled his opponent to his feet and helped walk him to the altar and lift him to sit on a pillow. Naruto pulled himself upon the altar and grabbed a pillow for himself to sit on and catch his breathe.

"Well done Naruto-kun. Very well done." Gamakiri spoke softly as he eventually regained his breathe, still in human form. The clones that stood around the cave perimeter dispersed with puffs of smoke as Naruto grabbed his head, reacting to the flood of memories that had just entered his mind. "I would have never imagined to be bested by one such as you in such a short amount of time. I could not be more proud."

Behind the shadows of the doorway, stood Gamabunta. Hidden from view from Naruto and Gamakiri, he had been listening during the entire exercise. _"So that's the kind of training technique that Kakashi taught him. I gotta give that guy credit for such an ingenious method of training. It will make my work much easier. But for even Naruto to think of having his own clones watch his own movements from an outsider's perspective is incredible."_ Gamabunta thought to himself. _"I'm gonna have to teach him how to make those clones stronger. With the way he fights, it would be an incredible addition to his arsenal." _Gamabunta slid away as quietly as he could to avoid interrupting Naruto and Gamakiri's session.

Naruto looked up at the doorway. He knew that Gamabunta had been standing there the entire time. _"I hope I'm proving myself to him." _he thought with a barely visible grin on his face.

"Now then, tomorrow, we start another kind of training Naruto-kun." as he looked at Naruto's face. Obviously, his mind was somewhere else at the moment. "Naruto!"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry, I drifted off there for a second. What were you saying?" Naruto asked his sensei.

Gamakiri rolled his eyes at his student's lack of attention span. Not minutes ago, they were in the fight of their lives, and already Naruto's mind had left his senses. "Like I said, we are going to start a new kind of training. I think I know of a great way we can go about this as well, seeing how well you can train with your Kage Bunshins." He checked to make sure he had his student's undivided attention. "I want to start you in training to fight against multiple opponents. This is going to be much more difficult than just fighting one opponent, but I think that it's well within your capabilities."

"How do you figure sensei? All I need to do is concentrate on both opponents at the same time, and attack and defend each individually. With two swords, that should be simple." Just then, Naruto remembered his training with Kakashi and Yamato, learning how to do Nature and Spatial recomposition at the same time. _"Somehow, I don't think that using clones to do each part separately is going to work this time." _

"Oh you think so do you? Have you ever tried to look left and right at the same time?" Gamakiri, now in his true form, retorted.

Naruto eyes grew in surprise that he had mentioned the exact same words that he, himself had used when trying to describe how to do two things at once.

Gamakiri still struggled to gain his full breathe. That last fight had taken quite a lot out of him. He stood up straight to pull the belt of his blue jacket tight. He stood about shoulder height on all fours, and was a unique reddish orange color, covered with red spots. His yellow, slotted eyes blinking in the way that frogs do. Naruto never got used to that blinking, even after all this time. He wore a pair of criss-crossed Katana blades on his back and had armored gauntlets on each arm and hand. "Now as I was saying, we are going to utilize your natural gifts with the Kage Bunshin for this training. What we are going to do is have your Bunshin's pair off in groups of 3, and spar with each other.

"But how am I going to learn that way? Fighting against myself? I already know how I fight." Naruto asked puzzled.

"I knew that you'd ask that." answered Gamakiri disdainfully. He knew that Naruto wouldn't understand without a lengthy explanation, one that he was loathed to give. "First and foremost, it all comes down to your fighting style and how it affects your opponent. You're an offensive fighter, and as such, you will often be the one to dictate the pace and flow of the battle. This gives you a certain level of control over your opponent. Just as you were unable to see how your own actions influence your movements in battle, you most likely haven't been able to perceive how your offensive actions affect your opponent; short of you hitting or missing your target."

He checked to see if Naruto looked confused or not. He was ready to explain the explanation if the blond made it necessary, but judging from his facial expressions, he was actually able to follow his words. "OK... Now by putting yourself into your opponent's position, you will come to understand what situation your offensive actions put them into, and as such, once you re-assimilate your clones, you will be able to anticipate their reactions. Being able to anticipate their reactions to your own actions, is the first step to building an effective offense against them.

"So, you're saying that by putting them into a defensive position by being the aggressor, I can put them into position to be caught by a follow-up attack?" Naruto asked of his sensei, curious to know if he had assumed the meaning of his words correctly. Even he would admit, albeit never out loud, he simply wasn't the smartest man alive, despite what his pride and ego told him.

"Exactly!" Cheered Gamakiri, actually quite surprised by Naruto's answer. "Now, the second affect is the more obvious of the two. Because you are fighting yourself, you will be forced to constantly evolve and improve your combat methods and style. Simply put, you will have to become better than you were when you created your clones. It will be a constant cycle of improvement on your part." He looked at his student to see Naruto nodding slightly. His head was moving a little hesitantly but he seemed to comprehend his words well enough. Satisfied, he decided to continue; "Now that leads us to the third result of this training. Because you are constantly bettering yourself, you will also constantly advance your offensive capabilities. You will also improve your defense at the same time."

"OK, I think I see what you are getting at sensei, but what about fighting other opponents? They won't fight the same way I do, so even if I know how they would move and react, they would still do different things wouldn't they? So how will this better how I fight against them?" asked Naruto, more than a little confused at the issue.

"Well Naruto, you will just have to trust me on this one." Gamakiri answered with a deep sigh. "Knowing yourself is far more beneficial overall than knowing someone else. In a fight against another person, you only learn how to react to a few dozen maneuvers at best. But fighting against yourself, as you will be doing, will teach you how to react to thousands of maneuvers. I know that this task will be extremely difficult...but I believe it is the best, if not the only way for you to effectively train. And also, I believe that for you, it is achievable."

"Hmm." Naruto hummed as he rubbed the back of his neck in his usual sheepish fashion, a slight grin making its way on his face. What was there to worry about after all, this was just another day in the life of Uzumaki Naruto. "That's a lot to take in, heh. I guess we had better get started then," he spoke as he hopped down from the altar and formed the Ram seal to perform the Tajuu Kage Bunshin.

"What?!" Are you serious?" screamed Gamakiri with absolute disbelief. "What makes you think that you are ready for something like this right now? Just after training today for twelve solid hours! Are you insane?!"

Naruto sighed and dropped his hands. "I don't have time to wait on this Gamakiri-sensei. I have to get better now. Please understand sensei. This can't wait."

Finally able to recover his full breathe, Gamakiri nodded with understanding. "Well at least, let's get some dinner first. One can't train on an empty stomach, and I have word that Gamakichi is working on something special."

Knowing full well what that meant, Naruto's stomach turned, not only from its being empty, but also from dread at what Gamakiri might be hinting at. He knew these frogs' diet and to say the least, it wasn't human friendly.

Smiling at Naruto's obviously disgusted look, Gamakiri added, "Don't worry Naruto-kun. He is making something special for you too."

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One and a half hours later, the family of toads sat around a massive table, including Gamakiri, Gamabunta, Gamatatsu, Gamakichi. Naruto sat at the foot of the table as well. All with full and bloated stomachs.

Gamakichi sighed a deep breathe of relief, and finally broke the silence. "Well then, who's gonna do dishes?"

Everyone looked at each other with the same look of fright in their eyes. Immediately, Naruto jumped up and said, "Cant do it., Gamakiri and I need to get back to training before this excellent meal goes to waste." he said with a wide smile on his face as he looked to Gamakiri.

Gamakiri nodded with a grateful smile and responded, "Absolutely. We need to get on this immediately. It's very crucial right now. We are in the middle of a special session." Both Naruto and sensei walked out the door.

Gamabunta only stood up and turned around. "Hey dad! You can help out a little around here ya know." Gamakichi piped up angrily.

Gamabunta pulled his pipe out of his pocket, packed it with his "tobacco", and set it ablaze with a great puff. "No I don't. I'm your father. I've paid my dues already." as he walked out of the dining hall.

Then sat only Gamakichi and Gamatatsu. Gamakichi looked at his younger brother with a grin, knowing that he had found his target. "I want candy." Gamatatsu responded with only a dumb and innocent smile, completely ignorant of the fact that he had just left his brother to hang yet again.

All alone, sat Gamakichi, staring at the rows of stacked plates, dishes, pots, and pans. His eyes filled with tears as he hit his head on the table with a tearful sigh. "One of these days, these guys will get what's coming to them. One of these days…"

Back in the cave, Naruto and Gamakiri ashamedly smiled at each other knowing that once again, Gamakichi was gonna get left doing the dishes. Underneath however, Naruto knew that he was in for something much more difficult than dishes.

"OK Naruto, we need to get started." spoke Gamakiri as he loosened his belt yet again after that meal. "You sure you're ready for this?"

"Not really, but we have to do this, so there's no point in waiting." Naruto replied solemnly as he raised his hands to form the Ram seal.

"Hold on." Gamakiri interrupted. "This exercise is going to involve only your Bunshins initially, so we need to change the choice of arms. "Since your Bunshins cant take much damage, we are going to have to use less lethal arms otherwise you are going to have to keep constantly creating new clones to keep up. Here, equip these before you do your Kage Bunshin." He said as he handed a pair of wooden swords to Naruto.

Naruto pulled the swords from his scabbards and replaced them with the wooden swords that Gamakiri had given him.

Naruto took one last look at Gamakiri before he took a deep breathe and once again made the all too familiar Ram hand seal. "**Tajuu Kage Bunshin No-Jutsu**" He shouted just before ninety-nine clones appeared in the cave. "Well guys, you know how this works." As he issued the orders to his clones. Unfortunately, the process didn't go as smoothly as planned. Even none of the clones wanted to be the solo defender. Eventually, that problem was ironed out as the defending clones were chosen. Fortunately, there was enough room in the cave for each set to engage in close combat.

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Over the next two weeks, an unexpected and unplanned result had occurred. Even though the cave was theoretically big enough for close combat at the start, eventually, each set began to need more and more space to battle. As this occurred, eventually an every-man-for-himself battle began, ultimately resulting in more than just a two against one contest, but rather as many as eight against one.

This day, Gamabunta was there to watch over Naruto's training with Gamakiri. Using strictly weapons-based taijutsu, Gamakiri tested Naruto using a Bunshin as a partner. Naruto performed exceptionally, not letting hardly a single attack through his defenses, as well as making an effective offense against both of his opponents. Quickly, he was able to take out the Bunshins and land hits against the human Gamakiri. The training continued constantly as the clones lined up, ready to take the place of the fallen clone as soon as they fell.

Gamabunta could only look on in awe of how this boy had changed since his arrival, only a few months ago. _"He is fighting on a nearly legendary level with his swords. He is constantly improvising and revising his tactics." _Gamabunta thought as he watched the blur of motion that was Naruto. He could barely follow Naruto's movements before he would hear the clash of a sword, or the hard thud of a punch, or the crack of a bone-crushing kick. Most of all, was the expression on Naruto's face. He remained completely calm throughout the entire exercise. Though barely able to keep his breathe, sweat running down his face and a never ending barrage of opponents, frustration never once showed in his eyes. He was in complete control of the situation, and the look in his deep blue eyes made it plain for all to see.

The exercise was nearing an end as there was only eleven Kage-Bunshins left when Naruto demanded that everyone in the room attack. Every remaining clone looked at each other, almost confused at this demand. _"There is no way he could take all of us on!" _was the common thought for all the clones.

"Bring it on! I'm ready!" Naruto shouted with a deep puff of wind from his exhausted lungs. "NOW!" he screamed as the remaining clones all put their swords at the ready and launched a simultaneous attack against their challenger. Gamakiri also shifted to make his move, using the clones as cover. Every clone fell to Naruto's lightning speed one after the other. Naruto was actually able to mount an offensive before the clone attacks could even begin! It's like he was actually reading their minds all at the same time!

Gamakiri launched his attack under the cover of a dissipating clone. He dug in his heel and used his legs to lift himself up from the ground with a backhanded grip on his sword, as if to make an uppercut attack with the butt of his sword and follow with the blade. His motion continued as he spun, and followed with the same rotation with his other sword. Naruto was easily able to pull his chin away and sidestep the attack. Grabbing hold of Gamakiri's jacket, he pulled him in for a solid blow to the stomach. Just as Naruto pulled his arm back for a follow-up attack, there was a giant puff of smoke from a corner of the room. A smirk appeared on Naruto's face, he had been waiting for this for a long time.

In that instant, Naruto shifted his weight forward and pulled Gamakiri's body into the path of his new attacker. A puff of smoke appeared just short of the attack as his new opponent reappeared behind Naruto. Naruto was impressed by the speed, but not caught by surprise as the attacker ran straight into Naruto's countering mule kick. Naruto used his opponent as a launch point and jumped forward with a flip over Gamakiri as he threw his captive's body at his new attacker. He landed squarely on his feet in a wide stance, one blade sideways in front of him, and the other above his head. He finally caught a brief glimpse of his new attacker. He was dressed in the same black ninja outfit and mask covering his lower face. A scar ran the vertical length of his face, going straight across his left eye. Long white hair, tied in a ponytail that ran down to his waist covered his head. Naruto could tell by the squint in his eye that his new opponent was smiling beneath his mask.

"About time you joined in on the fun sensei." Naruto spoke, issuing the challenge to both of his opponents.

"Hehe. Don't get too confident kid. You ain't seen nuthin yet." The white-haired shinobi answered as he formed his hands into the Ram seal that Naruto was all too familiar with. With no words spoken, three more clouds of smoke appeared all around Naruto to reveal clones of his sensei in human form, each with blades at the ready.

Now it was five against one, and the look on Naruto's face was not what Gamabunta had expected. Instead of a face of worry or confusion, there was only a sly grin across Naruto's face. "I was wondering when this was going to get interesting. Looks like you don't disappoint sensei. Now then, bring it on!" he spoke before launching himself toward the clone at his back with a loud and fierce battle cry.

The Real Training had finally begun.

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Author's notes: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It happens to include my first real attempt at a battle scene. I hope I didn't disappoint. For the next couple of chapters, there will be a lot more of the flashback timeline as there is a lot of ground that I need to cover before I can bring you back to the present. Stay tuned for Chapter6.


	6. Chapter 6 Allegiances of the Betrayer

-1OK, here we go with Chapter6. It is going to take off immediately after the end of Chapter 4. This chapter wont be visiting present time Sasuke, at least not in the beginning anyway, like previous chapters have so far. Anyway, here is Chapter6. Enjoy.

Chapter 6 - Allegiances of the Betrayer

(Back in Sasuke's dungeon cell)

Sasuke was sitting in his cell for what had seemed like hours. The total silence that filled the hallway was starting to get to him. There must have been some kind of barrier jutsu in affect throughout the room Sasuke had figured. Even with the doors closed and as heavy as they were, sound would still get through the walls and doors. It seemed pretty obvious to Sasuke that this is where the entire town was right now. "_There's no way that many people would be completely silent. It must be for breaking down the prisoners mentally. Obviously, these people down here aren't here voluntarily." _He thought to himself. _"Even the discipline of the guards is amazing. Not a sound since I've been here, much less a change of facial expression. They are cold as ice. This entire town must be run like a military. No wonder they were known for raising some of the most feared shinobi in the world." _His thoughts were the only thing to keep him company as he started to worry about Juugo. _"How long is this going to take? What could they possibly have in mind? What kind of test could they be talking _about?" Secretly, he feared that he already knew what kind of test this military culture would have.

Suddenly, the silence was broken by a loud clanking sound. Never had Sasuke been so happy and so full of dread to hear such an otherwise plain sound. His time had finally come. Footsteps approached from the entrance that Juugo had just left through some time ago. The footsteps came to a halt as one of the escorts had returned and stopped in front of Sasuke's gate. "It's your turn now Uchiha. For your sake, I hope you are rested up." he said plainly. He clearly lacked the sarcastic humor that he had when they arrived.

"What happened to Juugo?" Sasuke asked of his jailor.

"You will find out soon enough Uchiha." He said as he unlocked the gate and lead Sasuke up the dreadfully long stairs. As they reached the frame of the gate, a deafening roar arose from the massive arena. Before him was just as the name of the building implied, it was a sunken arena floor. All around the building were rows upon rows of screaming audience members. As he had suspected, it seemed that the entire town was here for this. How fast word spreads in this town.

Sasuke proceeded down some steps and turned to the right behind his escort. They walked around the circumference of the level on which they were. Sasuke looked down to the arena floor, it was a massive metal grate under which, appeared to be water. Considering where they were, Sasuke figured that it was likely that many of the battles that took place here, may have taken place in the water.

Finally, they arrived at the balcony of the Mizukage. He sat behind a veil similar to the one in his office. He was surrounded by what Sasuke could only assume were the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, judging by the fact that each of them carried a unique, often oversized sword. Suigetsu was also there standing behind his brother Rokusa. Suigetsu raised his hand and waved to Sasuke before being cut off by Rokusa's raised hand.

"The choice is simple Uchiha." spoke the Mizukage. "Here, you fight and live or die. Or you refuse, and die here and now a dishonorable death, by execution. As a shinobi of our hated enemy the Leaf, I cannot allow you to leave this building without knowing where your allegiances lie."

"I have no allegiances. I have only my mission." spoke Sasuke with anger and sorrow in his voice. "The Leaf Village means nothing to me anymore."

"Well I'm glad to hear that, but unfortunately, your words do little to comfort me." Replied the Mizukage. "Now, take up your weapons." as he pointed to his right where the Swordsmen parted and a table, full of weapons was pushed through.

Sasuke looked at the table, then to the Mizukage, then to Suigetsu. _"Damn you Suigetsu." _Slowly he moved toward the table and took up his shuriken and kunai and stored them within the seals on his wrists. As he reached for his sword, all Seven of the Swordsmen placed their hands on their weapons, ready just in case Sasuke would attempt something. It was plain to Sasuke that he would stand no chance against these elite warriors. Slowly he picked up his sword in scabbard and placed it inside his belt. Immediately after his sword was in place, one of the Swordsmen grabbed Sasuke by the belt and collar, and threw him onto the arena floor.

He landed firmly on his feet and stood up, looking toward the balcony. Suddenly a gate on the arena floor level clicked and opened._ "This must be my opponent." _he thought to himself.

From the door walked a Mist Village ninja followed by a hooded and restrained shinobi, dressed in dark blue pants and a green utility vest. As the gate shut behind them, they stopped and the Mist ninja removed the hood and arm restraints. Sasuke gasped as his eyes opened wide and he stumbled back. _"What the fuck is this?" _He thought as a disturbing silence fell over the crowd. He looked up toward the balcony and saw that one of the swordsmen had stepped forward and raised his hand to silence the crowd.

"He has been held in a Genjutsu for some time now. Now, he is your test. We captured him while he was on a mission in our country and now, we have no more use for him. If you want to receive training from us rather than death, you will kill him, here and now." he shouted toward Sasuke and nodded at the guard on the floor behind his opponent. The guard whispered some words into the man's ears and he woke up from the Genjutsu just before he jumped off of the arena floor.

The crowds raged and roared once again as this man started to raise his head as if waking up from a long sleep. The screaming seemed to startle him as he snapped around and looked up toward the audience. "Where the hell..?" he started to speak before turning toward Sasuke once again. He blinked twice and focused his eyes to confirm what he was looking at. "Uchiha Sasuke? Is that you?" asked Hagane Kotetsu. Sasuke knew well who he was. He was one of the 5th Hokage's personal assistants, a Chuunin examiner, village gate guard, and a known elite Chuunin warrior. He still had his trademark bandage running across his nose, messy hair, and the Leaf forehead protector.

Sasuke looked back toward the balcony, though he knew it wouldn't matter what he said or did. He looked back at the ground and wondered if he had made a mistake ever trusting Suigetsu. He should have known better that coming to this village was a mistake.

"What's going on here?" Kotetsu asked as he cautiously reached behind his back, ready to equip a weapon if the need arose. "Where are we? And what are you doing here? You have to come back to Konoha. We will find a way out of here."

"We aren't going anywhere Kotetsu. At least, you aren't going anywhere. I have to kill you." he spoke, cold and quietly.

"What?! That's insane!" shouted Kotetsu. "You are a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village! You have to come with me." Kotetsu knew that his words had fallen on deaf ears, though he had to try.

"Don't misunderstand me Kotetsu. I don't want to kill you. I want only one thing, but right now, you are standing in my path and you need to be removed." Sasuke quietly explained as he continued staring at the floor. "Now prepare yourself."

Sasuke looked up with his Sharingan eyes and took a wide sideways stance. The crowd gasped as he revealed the crimson eyes. _"SHIT! I forgot what these people do to people with a Kekki Genkai!"_ Immediately, he was surrounded by all seven of the Mist Swordsmen with weapons drawn and pointed at Sasuke's throat.

"NOOOO!" shouted Suigetsu from the balcony. "He's with me! He and his Sharingan are no threat to the Mist!" All seven swordsmen looked up at the balcony, awaiting an order from the Mizukage. The crowd once again fell absolutely silent.

"Let him live." were the simple words that came from behind the veil as the swordsmen sheathed their blades and took up their positions back on the balcony. The crowd roared again, screaming chants of "FIGHT!" and "DIE!"

A bit startled by what had just happened, both fighters took up a wide defensive stance, waiting for the other to make the first move. "This doesn't have to happen this way Sasuke." Kotetsu said to Sasuke, although once again, he knew his words fell on deaf ears.

Suddenly, both combatants launched a barrage of shuriken at their opponent and each of them circled to the left. Not a single shuriken hit, every one went straight through and imbedded itself in the opposite wall.

"_He's faster than I expected, I'm going to have to take him seriously." _thought Sasuke. _"He is an Elite Chuunin I know, but I have no idea what he is really capable of. I think he trained and worked and trained under Sarutobi Asuma. That doesn't help much either."_ were Sasuke's thoughts as he dodged another wave of Shuriken.

Kotetsu stopped and charged straight for Sasuke as he pulled his giant Kunai from the holsters on his back. Sasuke stopped as well and charged toward Kotetsu with Kusanagi at the ready. Kotetsu pulled both kunai back, one in a backhanded grip, as he readied a stabbing and swiping maneuver. Just before he got into range, he started his attack only to be stopped by Sasuke's sudden disappearance. Quickly, he spun around with both blades in front of him and deflected Sasuke's swing with one of his giant kunai. Sasuke having been forced back, regained his footing and launched another attack with Kusanagi. As he was about to deliver a downward slice, his attack was blocked by one of the kunai as Kotetsu returned with a sideways swipe with his right handed blade. Sasuke stepped back just in time to avoid the attack as he threw a roundhouse kick with his left foot that connected with Kotetsu's ribs, knocking him to the side.

Sasuke followed with a Chidori Nagashi as he slammed his hand into the grate that they were fighting on. Kotetsu recovered just in time to see Sasuke slam his hand into the ground, and jumped toward the nearest wall to avoid the attack. He drove one of his kunai into the wall and made a short series of one handed seals. _"I knew he'd use a Chidori attack, but I've never seen anything like this before!" _Kotetsu thought with a sly grin. He threw his other blade and shouted "**Fuuton** **Bakufuu**", as he swung his hand forward and accelerated his kunai toward its target with a great gust of wind. Sasuke narrowly avoided the blade as it passed cleanly through the steel grated floor, but Sasuke still got knocked against the wall by the force of the wind blast. The wind attack also completely nullified his Chidori Nagashi, dispersing the charge in the floor.

Sasuke slammed against the far wall and recovered his bearings just in time to sidestep the stabbing attack of Kotetsu that plants itself into the wall behind him. Kotetsu followed by using his planted kunai as a pulling point to throw a powerful kick to Sasuke's head. Once again, Sasuke manages to dodge the attack by using his Sharingan to read Kotetsu's movements. He counters with a quick swing with Kusanagi, but was barely deflected by Kotetsu with a regular kunai. The attack was still enough to knock Kotetsu off balance however, as he fell back against the wall. Sasuke followed with another sword attack that was once again barely deflected by Kotetsu's kunai. Kotetsu somehow managed to roll over to his side and deliver a sweep kick to Sasuke's feet, but once again, was dodged by Sasuke who jumped back to put some distance between himself and his opponent.

Kotetsu recovered in time to hear "**Katon**" and see a ball of flame head toward him from Sasuke's mouth. Barely managing to avoid certain death in the flames, he jumped to the side and pulled out a small scroll. With a flicker of motion, Kotetsu bit his thumb and pressed his palm to the scroll, summoning his giant shell-shaped mace. Kotetsu kicked against the wall and hurled himself toward his opponent with great speed. Sasuke saw the attack and raised his Kusanagi to block the attack, but the shear force of the swing was enough to knock him back against the wall again.

Kotetsu once again made a short series of single handed seals and shouted "**Fuuton** **Renkuudan**" as he fired a ball of wind chakra from his mouth toward Sasuke. Yet again, Sasuke was able to sidestep the attack which hit hard against the wall causing minor surface damage. However, as Sasuke sidestepped the wind jutsu, he stepped right into the path of the great mace attack which slammed into the wall where he just stood. Sasuke had managed to flicker away to dodge the attack. _"DAMN! I can't hit him at all! He can keep a step ahead of me with those damn eyes of his!"_ was Kotetsu's thought.

"_This is getting out of hand. He's fast and strong as hell and able to completely nullify Chidori with his wind attacks. No wonder he was trusted to watch the gates." _Sasuke thought as he activated his level one Curse Seal. With his now increased speed, he summoned 2 Windmill Shuriken and threw them at his opponent. He grabbed hold of the threads and pulled them to make them cross paths in front of Kotetsu. Kotetsu tried to block the shuriken with the mace, but was not able to avoid them as they circled around him. Sasuke pulled tight on the strings as they tightened around Kotetsu's body, causing him to drop his great mace. Instinctually, he looked up at Sasuke only to be caught in a paralyzing jutsu from the Sharingan.

No longer having to worry about his opponent's attacks, he dispersed the Curse Seal and walked toward his victim. As he came face to face with Kotetsu, he leaned toward his ear and spoke these words. "For what it's worth, I don't want to kill you, but I have no choice. One of us has to die here, and I can't let that be me, not before I kill my brother. I will make it quick and as painless as I can, but go to your grave knowing this. You were a very formidable warrior, and have died a death befitting a great shinobi." Just as he finished his words, a Chidori-charged Kusanagi pierced upwards through his stomach and into his chest. The paralyzed Kotetsu didn't even show an expression of pain in his face before his eyes closed and he fell off the end of the blade, onto the grate below.

With a flick of his blade, he shook loose the blood and sheathed his sword. The silence that had fallen over the crowd before Sasuke delivered the killing blow, turned into a deafening roar that filled the arena. Sasuke looked back up toward the balcony for approval of his deed. The man that appeared to be the leader of the Seven Swordsmen stepped forward to the edge of the balcony and looked over the roaring crowd, then back to the floor beneath him. He was a man of great stature, regular light colored skin and black hair; He wore the forehead protector of the Mist above his brow, and the same striped pants as the other swordsmen. Across his back rested a massive, oddly-shaped blade that came to three points at its end. As he looked back at the ground, he raised his hands and formed the Boar, Dog, and Tiger seals and shouted "**Henge.**" A puff of smoke enveloped his body to reveal the white rode, white mask, and green hat of the Mizukage.

"You have proven yourself Uchiha Sasuke to have abandoned your ties to the Leaf Village." The Mizukage spoke before the once again silent crowd. "Now, you will be granted the privilege to train under the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist as you have requested." He turned around and walked behind the veil to take his seat that was once again vacant. Apparently the position was being filled by one of the swordsmen in his own transformation jutsu. The crowd erupted with cheers as Suigetsu jumped down from the balcony to congratulate Sasuke.

"Heyhey! Sasuke! I knew you wouldn't have a problem wiping out that Konoha slime!" as he ran toward his teammate. He extended his arm to wrap it around Sasuke from the side, but his arm was swept away by Sasuke. "Oh! Sorry, didn't think you'd gotten hurt there."

Sasuke slowly turned toward Suigetsu, and without looking at him, spoke. "What were you thinking bringing us here? Did you know they would test us like this? And where's Juugo?"

"Psh, of course I knew! You know how paranoid this place is, but its not like we had a lot of choices!" he defended himself. "We needed some place where you could train, now you get to train with legends! You needed a place where you didn't have to worry about your brother sneaking up behind you, and that's here! And don't worry about Juugo, He just took a bit of a beating and went a little berserk, but he's fine. They had to 'incapacitate' him, but he's in recovery. Don't blame me if you don't have the stomach for murder!"

Sasuke wouldn't dare to admit it, but Suigetsu was right and he knew it all along. Itachi wouldn't dare to step foot here without Kisame as his backup, and now, he had the chance to receive instruction from some of the greatest group of warriors ever. Despite their high turnover for numerous reasons, every man that has belonged to the Swordsmen was a man to be feared. His encounter with Zabuza was proof enough. And Kisame? Although he didn't know the extent of his abilities, he knew well enough that Kisame would be more than a match for himself.

"Now let's go get Juugo and celebrate. Follow me!" as he jumped up to the balcony with Sasuke in tow.

(Two days later)

There were only two entrances to the Hidden Village of the Mist. The rest of the village was surrounded by a massive wall that raised several stories above the water. Of course there was the Main Gate that the team had arrived through, and then there was the rear gate of the village. This gate lead directly into the Great Manor of the Seven.

The Seven Swordsmen held social status just below the Mizukage in this village. In fact, in most cases, they were his only council as well, and it showed in their place of living. They lived in a massive, almost castle-like building that occupied nearly a tenth of the footage of the village. It had its own gate and guards at both front and rear entrances. Upon entering, there were two wings to the building. One would also notice that the mist that covered the entire village was absent here. There was a special jutsu in place that kept the mist at bay.

The left wing was where the Swordsmen called home. In this wing, each swordsman had their own room, each nearly as lavish as any Lord's living quarters. Despite their image as ruthless warriors, they enjoyed a life of luxury. Some member's were even known as great patrons of the musical, poetic, or painted arts. Sasuke and Juugo were taken quite off guard when Rokusa lead them on a small tour of the great manor. Also in this wing, were several guestrooms for guests of the Swordsmen. This was where Sasuke, Juugo, and Suigetsu were to stay for the time being.

In the right wind of the manor, were a few large rooms strictly for entertaining both themselves, and guests. One of these rooms contained a large artist's studio for painting. Another, contained several musical instruments and seating for a small audience. The other rooms were relaxation rooms, filled with couches and a fully stocked library with books of every kind. A massive fireplace also was in each entertaining room, although rarely left burning. Also in this wing was a massive kitchen that was staffed by some of the locals, as well as a long dining room that held a very large, intricately hand-carved table that comfortably sat as many as sixteen people. The team later learned that the table was carved out of a single massive tree that was cut down from where the village was built, by a former member of the Seven Swordsmen. It was tradition that the names of former deceased members were not to be spoken, unless that member had become a rogue or missing-nin. Once again, Sasuke and Juugo were caught very off guard by the respectful traditions of these elite and 'ruthless' warriors.

Currently, the team of Sasuke, Suigetsu, and Juugo were being lead by Suigetsu's brother, Rokusa, along a narrow bridge that wove between the dense forest of narrow-trunked trees. The bridge connected lead out of the village from the rear entrance at the Great Manor. After a short walk, around half a mile, they arrived at a large, flat island in the middle of the forest. The island had been cleared of trees for the most part, yet there was a small stream that wove through the middle of the island with a small pool in the middle. This was the training ground for the Seven Swordsmen. Due to the extreme nature of their jutsus and training, they were ordered by the second Mizukage to train outside the walls of Kirigakure no Sato(Hidden Mist Village).

Sasuke had noticed that despite the fact that this place was the site of their training, the land looked to be in pristine condition, as if it had been relatively untouched by human hands. Rokusa would only snicker, but not give a clear answer. He only said that they have a caretaker with a green thumb, leaving it at that with a laugh. Sasuke could only imagine the First Hokage. _"Could another person with that same bloodline still exist?"_ He thought to himself, but dared not to try and dig into the village secrets.

Rokusa stood before the team and spread his arms, displaying the island behind him. "This is where you will receive our training. Consider yourself extremely lucky Uchiha and Juugo. Very few people that are not members of the Seven themselves, even get to see this place, much less receive our teachings. If were not for the fact that your own mission coincides with one of our own, then your life would have been forfeit days ago."

Sasuke nodded respectfully to show that he was well aware of what Rokusa was saying. Juugo did the same. Suigetsu practically thought of himself as a member already, so he stood in his usual stance with his arms crossed, leaning on the giant Kubikiri Hocho Head Cleaver.

"Know this; if it is found out that our teachings have been shared by any of you to anyone else, then your lives will be forfeit as well. You will become a marked man by the Seven. Also, know that our style of training is very different from those that you may have received from your sensei at Konoha, or even under Orochimaru's tutelage. But I can promise you, if it is power that you seek, then we shall take you to heights that none other can take you. You enter this ground as a Genin, you shall leave as a man capable of feats of murder that would put many other country's Elite Jounin to shame. You will leave, as an elite of the Mist."

Juugo looked at Sasuke warily. He had a sinking feeling that this training would drive him to levels of madness that he could not hope to control. But Sasuke gave him a reassuring look that did little to comfort him, but was still enough to calm Juugo.

"Now, are you prepared?" was Rokusa's last statement before he unsheathed his massive Dai-Katana.

(Back to current time Sasuke along the road with his would-be assailant)

"Do you have what it takes to be a killer, you coward?" Sasuke asked coldly of his unseen companion. "Have you ever taken a life? Have you even taken a life out of self-defense? It is easy to justify murder, when your own life hangs in the balance. It is entirely another matter, to take a life for little or no good reason. I have taken many lives for the pursuit of one, single thing. That one singular motive, was enough for me to throw aside all that I knew to be wrong or right. Are you willing to do the same coward?"

The man quietly stared at Sasuke, not knowing entirely what to make out of his words. _"He's just trying to psych me out!" _he thought. But the tone of this black-haired blind man was a grave one. Was he willing to take his chances on a possible bluff?

Coldly, Sasuke continued. "I can tell from your hesitation, that you at best, wondering if I'm bluffing. Perhaps, I am only trying to psych you out. Perhaps I am only a poor blind man wandering a road alone. Or perhaps I am a man whose choices have cost him more than he could imagine. Are you prepared to make a choice that you cannot comprehend the consequences?" Sasuke finished with before he raised a crackling, spark-covered fist from behind his cloak.

At the sight of that fist, the man slowly and quietly, stepped back away from Sasuke. There was little chance that this man was bluffing, and chances were, more than willing to kill to defend himself. Once he had put some distance between the two of them, he ran past Sasuke and continued down the road.

"You made the right choice coward." Sasuke quietly muttered as the crackling receded back into his fist. _"If only I could have made the same choice all those years ago." _

Author's Notes: Ok, well that was Chapter6 - Allegiances of the Betrayer. I tried to create a feeling of sympathy for Sasuke, despite all of his deeds that remain untold. This will be the last chapter for Sasuke for the time being. I have a lot about Naruto that I need to get done before I can bring back Sasuke. Seeing as I am trying to keep their stories in alignment, timeline-wise with each other, the next time you will see Sasuke will most likely be in his past timeline when it coincides with the ending of Naruto's training with the toads. Chapter 7 should be out soon.


	7. Chapter 7 The Storm

-1Here it is, Chapter 7 - The Storm from Konoha. This is going to be the last of Naruto's training flashbacks. Not much else to say besides, enjoy!

(Back at the training cave in Myouboku Mountain)

Roughly a year and a half had passed since Naruto left his teammates to train with the toads at Myouboku Mountain. The results of his extensive training showed in every aspect of his fighting skills. He was faster, stronger, more versatile, more adaptive…This rugged training had caused Naruto's appearance to change as well. He no longer resembled the pre-pubescent boy he once was. His hair had grown longer and shaggier, and had even started to grow so long he had to fashion it into a ponytail that he had braided in the back of his hair to keep it out of his face. Being among only the toads, his personal appearance had also taken a backseat to his training so proper grooming was not much of a concern. The constant training and a regimen of healthy foods had also had an affect on his once flabby and unkempt shape. His face no longer had the remnants of baby fat that had given him rounded cheeks and his figure looked like it had been chiseled from stone. Not a scrap of fat remained visible on his now very masculine physique. His muscular body now resembled what many girls back home would have died for.

"OK Sensei, I've gotten the hang of wind jutsus. I can even utilize a lot of fire jutsus now as long as I tap into the Kyuubi's chakra; It almost comes as naturally as wind jutsus now." Naruto was saying to Gamabunta as he puffed with fatigue.

"Indeed Naruto. You are doing very well." Gamabunta replied. "So what is the problem?"

"Well, why do you want to teach me Earth jutsus now?" Naruto puffed. "Isn't two kinds of elemental attack enough?"

"Naruto, you are no ordinary shinobi. Thus far, we have trained you almost exclusively as an offensive fighter." Gamabunta started his explanation. "Fire and Wind are excellent jutsus to use for offensive purposes, but their uses defensively are severely limited. You need to work more on your defensive jutsu arsenal. I believe that if you can master Earth natured jutsus, then you will then add a great variety to your fighting style rather than just hit them before they hit you. Earth is an excellent nature to have for defensive purposes."

"OK, I have seen some people use Earth type jutsus like that before. I can see what you're talking about." Naruto replied. In his time training with the toads, he had learned to be a much more attentive student, which pleased Gamabunta very much. He wasn't one to repeat himself.

"Then we already have a good place to start from. This training is going to be a little bit different. Up until this point, you have only drawn on the natural affinity of your own and the Kyuubi's chakra, and brought out its own nature. Unfortunately, you have no affinity with the Earth chakra nature." Gamabunta explained. "That's why we are going to start your training outside the cave in this mountain valley forest. The stone walls and floors of the cave just aren't a good place to learn about the essence of earth itself. "

"What? Are you saying that I'm gonna have to learn how to understand dirt now?" Naruto laughed making a joke as he coughed and recovered his breathe.

"Hehe, more or less." Gamabunta chuckled. He could tell from the look of confusion on Naruto's face that he had no idea what he was talking about. "Look Naruto, everything in this world has an essence. The trees, animals, bushes, flowers, and even the five elements; they all have a particular essence that you have to learn to tap into. First, I need to teach you how to do this. Now sit down in that patch of dirt over there and grab a handful of fresh soil. Try to get a handful that doesn't contain a lot of rocks, or pieces of plant life in it. That would only make matters more difficult."

Naruto did as he was told and sat down, cross-legged on the patch of dirt. He sifted through the soil and picked up a handful of dark soil devoid of stones or weeds. "OK, now what?"

"The simplest way to explain this is by pushing your own chakra into the soil and then retracting the chakra. You have to be careful to try and not let your natural affinity for wind not affect this process. You have to keep focused entirely on the soil in your hand. After repeating this process many times with fresh soil each time, you should eventually begin to feel how your chakra differs when it returns to your body. This difference in your chakra is the essence of the soil 'staining' your chakra. As you proceed with this training, you will be able to more efficiently draw out more essence with your chakra. Eventually, you should be able to feel how that chakra is affected, and be able to replicate that effect in your own."

"_Oh great. First they have me create a set of swords that they won't let me use. Then they have me train against myself as the 'most effective method' for weapons training. Now he wants me to find the essence of dirt? What else does he have in store for me?"_ Naruto silently thought to himself as he began to channel chakra into the dirt in his palm. About a minute later, he pulled the chakra back within himself. He didn't notice a thing.

"I'm going to leave you for now. I trust that you can train like this by yourself for the next few hours." Gamabunta said as he lit his pipe and disappeared in a giant puff of smoke.

Naruto grabbed a fresh handful of dirt and repeated the process of channeling and pulling it back in. After several cycles like this, he realized that this was going to take forever unless he did something. Naturally, he did the one thing that he was best at as he raised his hands in the Ram symbol and shouted, "**Tajuu Kage Bunshin No-Jutsu**!" As several hundred clones appeared in the clearing with a giant cloud of quickly dissipating smoke.

"You know the drill. Spread out and start channeling chakra." Naruto ordered to his clones throughout the area as they each sought out their own little piece of ground.

Roughly ten hours later, Gamabunta returned to the clearing in a cloud of smoke. He scanned the area to find that Naruto was not where he left him. He walked to the spring nearby looking for his pupil. There he found Naruto sitting by the stream, meditating. _"I never taught him that. Must be something that Jiraiya taught him."_ He thought to himself as he watched Naruto. He was hesitant to interrupt, but did anyway. "Oye, Naruto." His voice thundered.

Naruto's eyes snapped open as he turned around to face Gamabunta. "Hey sensei. I was just meditating on what I learned. I think I have figured something out already."

"Oh yeah? In such a short amount of time?" Gamabunta asked as he turned his head and looked out of the corners of his eyes. He was skeptical of Naruto's claims. "Even with a hundred clones, this should take you at least a couple days to really get anything."

"Yeah, I kinda figured that. That's why I used five-hundred clones instead." He replied with a sarcastic smile on his face. "Let me show you."

He turned around and placed his hand on the bare earth in front of him. He closed his eyes and muttered, "**Doton**!" Slowly he lifted his hand as he kept his eyes closed and concentrated. As he lifted his hands a couple inches off the ground, the earth beneath his hand started to rise toward his palm. The further he raised his hand, the further the earth raised until his hand was nearly three feet off the ground and a two foot mound of earth had risen from beneath.

Gamabunta's eyes opened wide as even he couldn't believe what he was seeing. _"This is amazing! I never figured him to do this so easily! This boy really is amazing!" _

Naruto opened his eyes and the mound of earth began to crumble and fall back to the earth. "That was the tallest pile I've managed yet, but I still can't make it hold its composition. As soon as I relax, it crumbles and falls apart. I suppose I just need a lot more training before I will be able to do something on the level of Yamato-sama."

Still dumbstruck, Gamabunta hardly knew how to respond. "Of course. Once you become more accustomed to using Earth manipulation, eventually it will become second nature and you should be able to do many different jutsus effectively."

One week later, at the same clearing where Naruto began his Earth training.

"OK Naruto. You can do this." he spoke to himself trying to psych himself up. He formed the Ram symbol and shouted "**Kage Bunshin No-Jutsu**" as two clones appeared at his sides. One of the clones jumped high into the air with an assist from the second clone. Naruto formed a short series of seals and shouted "**Doton Hashira**(Earth Pillar)" before he slammed his palm onto the ground as a column of earth roughly six feet in diameter rose to about twenty feet into the sky a short distance from Naruto.

"**Rasengan**" shouted the aerial clone as he formed a Rasengan in his right hand and slammed it into the pillar, shattering it into thousands of chunks as he followed all the way to the ground. Just when the Rasengan clone reached about halfway through the pillar, the other clone put his hands together and shouted "**Fuuton Bakuha**(Wind Blast)" and let loose a blast of wind from a ball of concentrated wind in his open and extended palm. The force of the blast broke the chunks into millions of smaller chunks, and dissipated the clone inside just as it reached the bottom of the pillar.

At the same time that clone performed the Wind Blast, Naruto himself formed a series of seals and clapped his hands together. With eyes closed, he concentrated and shouted "**Fuuton Omoi Teikiatsu**(Wind Style, Great Cyclone)" and with another clap of his outstretched hands, a massive swirling wind lifted the sand into the air, creating a blinding sandstorm. As Naruto opened the space between his palms, the sand-cyclone started to widen slowly until it reached a diameter of approximately thirty feet.

Even Gamabunta, who was there to monitor Naruto's training, had to raise his arm to shield his eyes from the stinging sand and wind. Naruto concentrated on maintaining the jutsu and was actually able to keep the combination sandstorm cyclone jutsu going for almost thirty seconds. As the sweat blew off his brow, the speed of the cyclone picked up and the remaining clone dispersed from the constant stinging barrage of the storm. With more concentration, he was able to push the cyclone of sand and wind away from himself and across the clearing and into the trees beyond. Naruto began to channel additional chakra from the Kyuubi to keep maintaining the extremely chakra heavy jutsu and the winds kept picking up speed still! As he tapped into the Kyuubi chakra, his whiskers grew in width and depth, and his hair started to lengthen and spread out.

The more chakra Naruto channeled into the jutsu, the wider the cyclone grew as he separated his palms further until it reached a diameter of roughly a hundred feet. As the storm passed into the trees, it began shredding the leaves from the trees and stripping the bark from the trunks themselves! As he kept hold of the jutsu, the winds kept picking up speed until it actually started shredding the tree trunks themselves until there was nothing left but a short stump!

With a great roar, Naruto pushed himself to push more and more chakra into the storm until it actually started to pull loose the earth itself, taking with it the entire root systems of the trees caught in its path! In fact, as Naruto channeled more and more chakra into the sand-cyclone, the chakra had actually begun to form a visible cyclone of red and blue chakra between Naruto's palms.

"RRROOOAAAAHHHH!!!!" He screamed with a final push of chakra as he opened his dark red slitted eyes and spread open his palms to face toward the storm. He held this pose for a few short seconds before clamping his hands shut, sending out a small visible blast of chakra from each hand. Just then, the great debris-filled cyclone pushed straight down into the earth, drilling a deep depression into the ground before the storm finally receded and the winds dissipated.

Naruto gasped for breathe with his hands still extended before he dropped to a knee from shear exhaustion. When all was said and done, he had completely cleared nearly an entire half of a square mile of all vegetation. Once he managed to gather his breathe, he lifted himself to his feet and walked toward the hole he had made. Curious himself, Gamabunta followed closely behind. When they reached the edge of the crater, what they found, was more than just a crater. About thirty feet below, was the pile of debris of mulch and dirt that had been deposited by the storm being driven straight into the earth. Without clearing the debris, there was no way to tell exactly how deep the hole was.

Naruto could only put on a child-like ear to ear smile as he stared in amazement at what he had just done. He never imagined himself capable of such a feat. With glowing eyes, he looked up at Gamabunta, as if seeking approval of his accomplishment. What he found however, was quite the opposite. It was a look of disappointment that made Naruto's feeling of glee suddenly reduce to a feeling of shame and embarrassment.

"Well it's true that at least you have learned how to amplify your jutsus by pouring in more and more chakra. And you have even shown the amazing ability to change and control such a technique, shaping and bending it to your will." Gamabunta almost angrily spoke finally.

With a trembling voice, Naruto asked, "Then why are you so upset? Didn't I just do something amazing?"

"What did you accomplish here?" Gamabunta angrily snapped as he glared at Naruto! Naruto trembled at the tone of voice, almost falling off his feet. "Is this going to be useful? Do you think that your opponents are going to stand and wait while you demonstrate how you can destroy multiple acres of woodland?! What you did was nothing more than trying to impress yourself! A shinobi doesn't waste his time with mindless and wasted actions like this! I had hoped you had grown above those childish impulses by now. Just when I was starting to think that you had finally grown up, you go ahead and show me how you can cut down trees and make holes!"

"But.." Naruto tried to defend himself with tears in his eyes, before being cut off abruptly by the monstrous toad boss.

"No 'buts' Naruto!" Gamabunta snapped again! "This was an utter waste and embarrassing display of your abilities, your talent, and my time! And as of now, so are you." He finished as he turned away and disappeared in a great puff of gray smoke.

In absolute shock, Naruto fell to his knees, as tears began to stream down his cheeks. _"Have I failed? What did I do wrong? I don't understand…"_ He thought as he gasped for breathe, his lungs twitching from the flood of anger, frustration, and confusion that filled his emotions. He fell into his hands, tears spilling through his fingers and falling to the bare ground below.

Images of his closest friends flashed through his mind; Sakura, Shikamaru, Chouji, Ino, Shino, Rock Lee, Kiba, Hinata, Neji, Gaara, Tsunade, Iruka… Then the images of the deceased flashed though his mind; Kakashi, Jiraiya, Sarutobi, Asuma, the 1st, 2nd, and 4th Hokages and countless others that have died before. _"Have I shamed you all? Am I a failure?" _

Then, the final image entered his mind. It was Sasuke walking away into the darkness, slowly fading into nothingness, leaving a helpless and unconscious young Naruto laying on his side.

"No." Naruto quietly muttered into his tear soaked hands. The red chakra of the Kyuubi slowly started began to radiate outwards from his entire body as his stuttered breathing subsided. Slowly, Naruto raised his face from his hands with an expression somewhere between absolute sorrow, and complete rage. Tears continued to flow from his now opened fire-red eyes, but evaporated before falling to the ground. "NO!" rumbled from his trembling lips, revealing the growing fangs of the fox as his mouth clenched shut with a vicious snarl. The red chakra began to completely wrap around his trembling body as Naruto looked at his opened hands. Long claws started to grow from his fingernails as he slammed shut his hands into balled fists, drawing blood from his palms as the claws dug through the flesh.

He raised his face to the sky, and with a deafening roar, seemed to curse the clouds themselves! As he roared, a wave of chakra burst from his body, creating a hot wave that stripped the leaves from the trees for a couple hundred feet in all directions. "NNNOOOO!!!!!" he shouted at the top of his lungs with a vicious, thundering, and inhuman roar!

Just as soon as it had happened, the red chakra receded, and the demonic features disappeared from his face as he fell over to his side. His body still trembling from the flood of the most raw, primal, and powerful emotions that humans are capable of experiencing.

After a couple minutes of labored breathing, and uncontrollable shaking, he slowly pushed himself to his side and raised himself to a single knee. He reached out and opened his bloodied and dirt-stained hands as he looked at them for a minute. He could already tell the signs of them starting to heal.

"I wont fail them again" he said as he lifted himself to his feet, turned his back to the massive hole, and started walking slowly back toward the clearing.

The next day, early in the morning, Naruto returned to his outside training ground. The sweet scent of dew still hung heavily in the crisp mountain air. The only sounds in the air were those of birds chirping. It was a perfect scene as the sun still hung low over the horizon.

The picturesque mountain scene was interrupted by a loud shout form the clearing in the trees. "**Fuuton Reza-ken**(Wind Razor-blade)" was the shout that came from Naruto's determined lips as he formed a disk of blue wind chakra in his right hand. In a second, the chakra was ready and Naruto swiped his hand across his field of view, creating a thin crescent-shaped light blue colored blade of chakra that flew across the clearing, traveling through every tree within roughly thirty feet before fading into nothing. It seemed a failure as there was no visual affect to the trees.

Disappointed, Naruto walked up to the closest tree, roughly two feet in diameter, and inspected the point where the blade traveled through. Initially, he could see nothing, until he leaned in closely and noticed a barely visible line running straight across the width of the tree. Just as he followed the line around the tree, a smaller tree behind it started to creek and fell to the ground, just missing Naruto as he jumped out of the way. He quickly turned around and saw the stump where the narrow tree once stood. He looked carefully at the surrounding trees, and saw that the line through each tree was at exactly the same height. The words of Sarutobi Asuma echoed in his head as he realized that the jutsu had done exactly what it was intended to do.

"OK, well at least I have that figured out now." Naruto quietly spoke to himself. _"I should try to continue my training with the Rasen-Shuriken. I have to be very careful though because Yamato-sensei isn't here to stop the exercise in case something should happen with the Kyuubi again. My control is much greater than it was then, but I need to keep my emotions in check otherwise…" _As his thoughts trailed off, not wanting to think of what happens when he loses control. Lady Tsunade's warning was also running through his mind. He knew, that he would need to complete the jutsu in order to stand a chance against Akatsuki.

He raised his hands in the Ram seal, shouted the words, and created exactly ninety-nine clones. He figured that as long as he remained to watch over the session himself, at least he had a chance at eliminating any out of control clones before matters got out of hand.

Almost immediately the clones set up in teams of three and began to channel their chakra. Simultaneously, thirty-three shouts of "**Rasengan**" filled the clearing as the channeling began. With Naruto himself bearing the image of the demonic influence as well as every clone, they continued the process of trying to channel the Wind element into the swirling sphere of chakra. Just as before, one by one, each team dispersed as the jutsu became unstable and exploded before it was ever close to becoming complete.

Not even ten minutes later, every team of clones was gone, once again leaving Naruto standing alone. Naruto looked up at the sky and quietly spoke to the heavens. "Even though you said that you couldn't do anything more for me, the fact that you were there always gave me inspiration Kakashi-sensei. I couldn't have gone as far as I did without you at my side."

"Speaking to the dead again Naruto?" Came a booming voice from behind the turn in the trees at the edge of the cleared path. Gamabunta slowly appeared from behind the trees as he puffed on his pipe. "Acting like they are still here will do you no good. Instead, why don't you try to prove yourself worthy of their memories?"

Naruto looked up at Gamabunta only to turn away and walk further down the path. With no answer, he once again put up his hands and formed the Ram Seal and created another ninety-nine clones. Immediately, he began to do the seemingly impossible task of finishing the jutsu that the Fourth Hokage had begun.

"You know you don't need those anymore." Gamabunta muttered from the distance as he approached Naruto.

"Just leave me to train myself!" Naruto shouted with his back to Gamabunta. "I would hate to waste your time again sensei." He spoke as he turned to face Gamabunta with no fear in his deep-blue eyes. Instead, was a blank look, devoid of any emotion whatsoever.

"Do me a favor Naruto." Gamabunta spoke, paying no heed to the look on his student's eyes. He lifted the pipe from his mouth and puffed out a ball of smoke.

With a slight scowl and a slight glare, Naruto created a simple Rasengan in his right hand just to humor the boss toad. He didn't even need to speak the word anymore.

"Good, now make it bigger." Gamabunta followed up with as he packed his pipe with fresh tobacco and set it ablaze.

Naruto obeyed the command and concentrated on the Rasengan, pouring in more chakra until it was roughly a foot in diameter.

"Good. You see how easy that was?" Gamabunta asked of his pupil.

"Yeah, what of it? I've been able to make a Rasengan for a few years now already. This doesn't prove anything."

"Hehe. Oh yeah?" Gamabunta chuckled. Where's your clone helper?

Naruto looked around and realized that all his remaining clones had stopped and were now watching Naruto himself. In his state of mind, he hadn't even noticed what he had done. "So what, that still proves nothing. I could do this before. It's just a matter of pouring in more chakra and maintaining control." Naruto snapped back.

"Fine, fine. You're right." Gamabunta grinned and puffed on his pipe again. "OK then, let's do something a little more difficult. Create two Rasengans."

Naruto looked back and one of the clones ran closer. As he got next to Naruto, he lifted his own hand and started to create a Rasengan.

"No No No Baka!" Gamabunta interrupted. "I said, YOU do it Naruto."

Naruto dispersed the Rasengan along with all the clones, and dropped his hands to his sides as he balled up his fists. "I can't do that. You know that!" He responded as he was starting to get quite agitated as whatever it was his sensei was trying to do.

"You can't?" Gamabunta pulled the pipe from his face and made an exaggerated look of shock. "Well why not?"

"I just can't! It's like trying to…" He spoke as his words came to a halt. Suddenly, he remembered Gamakiri using the same words that Gamakiri had used before beginning his sword training against multiple opponents. _"Have you ever tried to look right left at the same time?' were the words he spoke to me back then, but I still figured it out eventually." _Naruto thought as he recalled the training.

"Have you even tried, Naruto?" Gamabunta asked while maintaining that all-knowing grin.

Naruto raised his hands with open palms, and began to focus the chakra in his right palm. Just as before, the Rasengan appeared with no need to speak the words. Then he turned his attention toward his left hand and started to focus his chakra there as well. A small amount of chakra appeared to start swirling in his left palm just as the chakra in his right hand started to wobble and lose stability. Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated, the right Rasengan recovered its stability, but the forming sphere in his left hand began to fail.

"Open your eyes Baka!" Gamabunta commanded with his booming voice. "Do you really need to close your eyes just to concentrate?"

Naruto opened his eyes and gritted his teeth as he turned his attention back toward the forming swirl of chakra in his left hand. Sweat started to bead up on his forehead and the strain began to show on his face, but he was keeping the right sphere controlled all the while focusing on the left hand.

"_You can do it Naruto. C'mon!" _Gamabunta thought as he opened his eyes wide and stared at Naruto's left hand.

Naruto gritted his teeth as he grunted to push himself farther than he ever had known. _"You are NOT a failure! I can't fail! Not again! Not in front of Gamabunta-sensei! NOW!" _Naruto thought as he made a final push to pour the final chakra into the left Rasengan. As the spiraling sphere of chakra stabilized, he looked back to his right hand and saw that the Rasengan was still there.

"Now hold them Naruto!" Gamabunta ordered to his student. _"Will you redeem yourself here and now Naruto?" _he thought as he glared at Naruto.

With teeth clenched tight and sweat dripping from his nose, Naruto stood still, keeping both Rasengans spiraling. A minute later, he remained there still with both orbs still stable. "How much longer sensei? I don't know how much longer I can hold on here." He managed to speak through his clenched teeth.

"Just do as I tell you Naruto. Keep holding them." Gamabunta replied with a smile on his face.

Two eternal minutes later, Naruto still held the Rasengan in each hand, both stable. The strain clearly was starting to show in Naruto's face as he looked like he was in actual pain now. "When can I let them go sensei? This is starting to… hurt!" as he winced from a pain that he felt in his left hand.

"What's the matter? You did this for two entire days when you first arrived here! What's the problem? It's just channeling chakra!" Gamabunta responded with a sarcastic laugh.

"Naruto breathed heavily before forming his words carefully. He could ill afford to waste his breathe with wrong words. "That's different. This is…" he paused to catch his breathe again. "This is… a lot more complicated! I have to.." He winced again from a pain in his right hand this time, "AGGH!.. I have to keep them controlled.."

"Oh, C'mon Naruto!" Why are you breathing so hard? Since when was channeling and focusing a little bit of chakra such a difficult task for you?" Gamabunta replied with a stern tone of voice. "Now get with it Naruto! This should be a lot easier than you are making this out to be. Do you realize the enormous amount of the chakra that you channeled yesterday with that cyclone of yours? This is nothing compared to that! This here isn't even elementally altered chakra!"

"But that was.." Naruto breathed heavily. "That was only a single jutsu. That was.. different."

"That's exactly what you thought when Gamakichi told you that you would be training to fight multiple enemies." Gamabunta replied with a smug smile.

Just as Gamabunta's words echoed through Naruto's mind, the look on his face suddenly changed and his jaw relaxed, relieving his grinding teeth. He finally took a deep breathe and he realized that he was still holding both Rasengans spheres. The look in his face changed from one of pain, to one of a feeling of accomplishment. "I'm doing it! I'm really doing it sensei!" he shouted excitedly.

"Good, now get rid of them, one at a time." Gamabunta ordered as he pointed toward the trees on Naruto's left. As circumstances had it, it was the first two trees that Naruto had sliced with his wind jutsu earlier. "Hit those two trees, one at a time." Naruto slowly turned toward his left as he began to proceed slowly toward the treeline. "What's this?! Is that how you attack an opponent?! Now hit those trees!" he shouted to his pupil.

Naruto dug a toehold with his right foot and launched himself toward the treeline. First, with the right! **"RASENGAN" **as he slammed the spiraling orb into the trunk of tree, causing the entire center of the tree to explode into splinters! Second, with the left, **"RASENGAN" **as he slammed the orb into the next tree and with another explosion! Naruto stopped in his tracks as the rain of splinters fell down around him like confetti.

"So, are you ready to resume your training now Naruto?" Gamabunta asked of his pupil.

Naruto walked out from the trees with a look of confidence beaming from his deep-blue eyes. "What's next sensei?"

"Well Naruto," Started Gamabunta. "How much do you know about your family history?"

Author's Notes: Well kiddies, that was Chapter 7. And yes. I have an Uzumaki Family History in store for you readers. I am going to timeskip the rest of Naruto's training. I think I've done enough here. I will let the results of his training speak for itself when we get back to the other chapters. Sorry, but Sasuke wont be making an appearance for the next few chapters. I can only write so much about the travels of a blind man and Sasuke's next flashback chapter has to coincide with Naruto leaving Toad Mountain. Originally, I had another ending in store for this chapter, but it would have made this chapter extremely long. Well then, wait for Chapter 8 - The Rokudaime!

Please, gimme some reviews!


	8. Chapter 8 The Rokudaime

**Chapter 8 - The Rokudaime. Here is one of the chapters that I've been waiting for a long while to get to. I do however have to add a little warning though. This is a violent and graphic chapter. That's about all I can say without revealing the story. So please, keep an open mind while reading this, and please enjoy. Also, as a note, instead of using pre-existing jutsu names, I created several for this chapter using a Japanese-English Translator so I apologize for the abuse of the Japanese language. Anyway, there is a jutsu guide at the bottom of the chapter if you need to look one up. **

(Back to the road and current timeline)

Quickly, Naruto pulled his blades Rekka(red) and Arashi(blue) from the scabbard over his right shoulder and took a wide defensive stance with his left foot forward and Arashi sideways in front of him, and Rekka pointing forward above his head. "Get back Kakashi. Get behind the treeline behind me and stay alert. It could be a trap." he whispered to his son.

Obediently, Kakashi stepped back and hid in the bushes about thirty feet behind his father. He kept his Byakugan trained on the men hiding behind the treeline. They were almost at about the edge of his field of vision at almost one-hundred feet. While he was looking into the distance, he noticed something unusual about his father's swords. They each seemed to have an actual dormant chakra circulatory system of their own that spread from the handle. All along the edges of the blades, was what seemed to be what Kakashi could only assume was a dense network of tenketsu points. Neji had noted before how Kakashi's eyes are just as sharp as his own at his age and that the ability to actually see tenketsu points was a rare ability. Despite this rare ability and Kakashi's constant pleading, Neji refused to train the boy in the Divination arts; claiming him to be too young. However the truth of the matter is that Neji's pride made him hold back on little Kakashi's training for fear of him becoming stronger than himself and at a much younger age. Kakashi once again trained his eyes back on the men hiding in the treeline while he continued to chew on the massive wad of gum in his mouth.

"Step out from the trees!" Naruto demanded of the unseen group of men. He waited a few seconds before issuing another warning. "Step out from those trees with your weapons held out in front of you! I will warn you no further!"

Nearly half a minute of silence had passed, with no response from the men hiding in the trees. "Are they still there Kakashi?" Naruto asked of his son without taking his eyes off the treeline, but staying aware all around him. "Can you still see them?"

"They sure are dad." Kakashi answered simply with the pop of a gum bubble. "Straight ahead."

"Very well! You have forced my hand! From here on out, you are responsible for your fate!" Naruto shouted before he leaned back on his right heel.

Kakashi noticed a change in his father's swords. Suddenly, they seemed they seemed to flood with chakra as the circulatory systems filled up. The blade in his right emitted a sort of red chakra haze, as the blade in his left hand, emitted a light blue chakra. _"What's going on with those things? Are they alive?" _Kakashi thought with amazement at how much he really did not know about his father's abilities. He had rarely gotten the chance to see his father in serious combat before. The incident at the country's border was short and unimpressive. Naruto simply created a small army of strengthened shadow clones and ran off the army. It was really just that simple for Naruto. With the raw martial ability of Naruto against the poorly trained army, it was no major task given that his number of clones could reach into the thousands. For Kakashi, this was the best day of his life.

Naruto turned the blue-handled sword over and swept it to the right and then with a blur of motion, he started a blindingly fast left bound swing as he shouted **"Arashi Kirite!"** Just as he finished his motion, a crescent-shaped wave of razor thin light blue chakra flew through the treeline until it faded from view. In a flicker of motion, Naruto slid Rekka back into the scabbard and extended his right palm straight outward and shouted, "**Fuuton Bakuha!**" A ball of wind chakra formed in less than a second and exploded outward from Naruto's palm.

Kakashi watched as the blast wave completely blew the trees free from their trunks where the wind blade had sliced through them. Caught off guard by the sheer destruction, Kakashi almost missed his father's next motion!

Almost as if a part of the same fluid motion, Naruto reached behind and pulled Rekka from the scabbard again, knelt down, and buried the tip of the blade into ground in front of him. "**Rekka Sensuifu!**" He shouted as a line of great flames shot forward from the blade and traveled along the ground, slowly widening in length as the raging flames traveled. The fire continued along the line of felled trees, burning everything in its path to ashes, until Naruto pulled his blade from the ground and once again took his defensive stance. This caused the flames to stop traveling forward.

Kakashi had a look of total awe at what he was witnessing at this very moment. "_That's my father?_" was the single thought running through his mind. Not only had he done such devastating damage with three single moves, but he did it all in a matter of about five seconds!

Naruto finished by placing his swords back in the scabbard, and proceeded to make a short series of hand seals, "**Doton Kiretsu Shuuha**" as he clapped his hand together and stomped his left foot, sending a strange wave outward and forward from where he stood. There was no immediate visual affect, but Kakashi's sharp eyes caught what had happened. When Naruto stomped his foot on the ground, Kakashi could see past the surface of the earth, that the blast wave managed to create hundreds if not thousands of small voids in the ground in front of him.

"_That earth is going to be extremely unstable." _Kakashi thought to himself as his vigorous gun-chewing came to a complete halt. _"But what is that…" _

Before he could finish his thought, the answer showed up right in front of him. As the wave stopped, everything in a nearly ninety degree angle from in front of Naruto began to rumble as every tree, ashen pile, and rock fell in on itself into a shallow crater.

"_WOW! He just destroyed the entire area that those guys were hiding in! There's nothing left but a big hole!!" _Thought Kakashi as he scanned again for the bandits. He could see that they were still there, but they managed to jump out of the way of the attack.

"_Hmm. They are still here."_ Thought Naruto as he knew he could still feel their chakra, but he couldn't locate them precisely. "Well then, let's try something a bit bigger." He whispered with a grin just before making his trademark Ram seal, and without a word muttered, four more clones appeared, two on each side. "**Fuuton Omoi Reza-Kirite**" shouted all five of the yellow-haired warriors on the road, as each made a two-handed sweep from their sides toward directly in front of them! Each clone and Naruto unleashing a light-blue crescent-shaped wave of wind chakra toward the trees! As the wave hit the trees, the clones dissipated and Naruto made a short series of hand seals and braced himself. "**Fuuton Nijuu Bakuha**" shouted Naruto as he extended both palms in an angle toward the sides of his previous blast zone.

"_Holy cow!"_ Thought Kakashi, barely able to keep himself silent at what he was witnessing. From his point of view, he saw a massive ball of chakra form in each of his father's hands! Just before the chakra seemed to grow unstable, he could see what looked like a funnel of chakra form between the chakra ball and Naruto's hands. _"That funnel must be to direct that chakra away from his hands! It's like he is directing a blast from both hands!"_ Just as he realized what was about to happen, he covered his ears and tucked in tight to the ground behind the bushes.

A massive blast of wind launched from both of Naruto's hands! It was nearly deafening as the massive shockwave of the blast blew away all the trees that had been cut by the five-member Wind Cutter! It completely cleared an area roughly one hundred and fifty feet wide, and fifty feet deep!

Just before the dust cleared, two chains flew out from the cloud, aimed directly at Naruto! Naruto only smirked at the sight of the chains. "So slow." Kakashi could see that the edges of his father's blades began to emit an orange and blue haze. Just before the ends of the chains reached Naruto, he raised his blades and began swirling each blade, catching the flying chains and wrapping them up in the blades! He made three swirls of each chain and slammed the ends of his swords into the ground, shouting "**Arashi Rekka Jiseki**" as flames rapidly followed the path of the right chain, and a swirling light-blue stream followed the path of the left chain!

Naruto stood up from his knee and shouted, "Show yourselves!" as he twisted his blades from the ground, and the wraps of chains fell to the earth.

"Very well!" Shouted a voice from the dust. Immediately, five men jumped into the clearing in front of Naruto. Just as Kakashi had said, there were five men. Two large men wielding a hammer-axe and a massive naganita. The other three wielding a pair of claws, a spear, and a kusari-gama pair.

"Where are you from? Who sent you?" Naruto asked of his assailants.

"Hehe. That's for us to know, and you? Well you don't need to know." Answered the big man holding the hammer-axe.

"So I take you to be the leader of this riff-raff." Naruto responded calmly. "What exactly did you plan to accomplish here?"

Kakashi kept close watch on what was happening in front of him. His gum chewing sped up with his level of excitement. _"Oh, these guys are in trouble. My dad is gonna whip their butts."_ He could see that his father was keeping his swords charged with chakra, ready to use at a moment's notice. _"I wonder what they want. They have to recognize who they are standing up against."_

"Let's just say, that we took up a little job. And that job.. is you." Answered the big man. Each person in the team wore a similar uniform. Each decked out in a full black suit with a gray utility vest. Each also wore a blank forehead protector and dark gray armor covering each of their forearms, and shins.

"Your choice of armor would seem that you are prepared for a night-time mission. Quite bold to make your move in the middle of the day." Naruto cleverly replied. "Now then, come and earn your pay." He said with a sly grin as he dug in his rear foot.

The claw-wielding shinobi was the first to make his move as he launched himself toward Naruto and readied a sideways swipe aimed at Naruto's chest.

"Oh please." Naruto spoke as he sidestepped the attack and made a bicycle kick that connected to the back of the claw-shinobi's head, slamming his face into the ground. Just as Naruto landed on his right foot, he turned his attention back at the group and saw the spear-shinobi make his own thrusting attack. Naruto pushed off his right foot, and jumped back to avoid the attack as the shinobi rushed past with his missed attempt.

As Naruto regained his footing, the spear-shinobi turned on his heel, and made a returning attack toward Naruto at the same time that the naganita-wielding shinobi made his move. Naruto pushed aside the initial spear thrust with Arashi just as he also countered the naganita swipe with an upward swipe with Rekka, knocking the great polearm into the air as Naruto countered with a kick to the attacker's chest, launching him to the across the clearing to the ground. Just as the spear-shinobi recovered, Naruto defended against his strike by pushing his spear into the ground with Arashi.

"_That spear should have broken in half!"_ Thought Naruto as his eyes opened wide with surprise. He countered the failed weapon break with a simple uppercut to the spear-shinobi's jaw, knocking the shinobi to the ground.

"I see you noticed that these weapons aren't so fragile, even against your swords." Laughed the big man with his hammer-axe in hand.

"It takes more than fancy weapons to win a battle." Naruto replied with little concern in his voice as he swung aside the flying kama that was thrown at him. He twirled his sword around and wrapped the chain of the kusari-gama around Rekka's blade and pulled the other kama right out of the hands of its wielder.

The claw-shinobi had recovered just in time to make another swipe at Naruto just before the Hokage swung the chained kama toward the claw-shinobi's arms. **"Rekka Jiseki"** shouted Naruto as flames shot along the chain as it wrapped around the claw-shinobi's arms!

Kakashi kept watching the action as his gum chewing sped up with the action. He could see the fire chakra emit from Rekka's blade, and follow the chain of the kusari-gama.

The claw-shinobi screamed from the fire burneding his arms as he jumped away, pulling the chain free from Rekka's blade. The flames subsided as soon as the chain was pulled free from Rekka. Naruto spun around and brushed aside yet another spear thrust and followed with a quick kick to the shinobi's chest, launching him back toward the big man who stood still, holding his hammer-axe with butt planted in the ground.

The other large man made another attack with his naganita just in time for Naruto to use the momentum from his kick, to launch himself backward and avoid the downward swing. He landed just in time to plant his foot and launch himself toward his attacker, delivering a hard hit with the butt of his sword to the back of the shinobi's neck, and following with a knee to the jaw before the man hit the ground, knocking him back and flat on his back.

Just as Naruto once again recovered his footing, he heard, **"Doton Bakuha"** coming from the direction of the large man holding the hammer-axe. Naruto turned his attention toward the man just in time to see him slam his palm into the ground in front of him. Naruto anticipated the attack, and jumped back just in time to avoid the explosion of earth from the exact location where he was just standing. He crossed his arms to shield his eyes from the earthen shrapnel created by the blast as he once again landed squarely on his feet.

Kakashi could see the chakra from the large man travel through the ground to its target location and cause the ground to erupt in an explosion of dirt and gravel. He covered his own face to avoid any spray from the attack.

Naruto glanced to the side to confirm his son's safety. _"Good. He is still there. I'm glad he follows orders better then I would have at his age."_ Naruto thought to himself before he redirected his attention toward the large man with the hammer-axe. "It looks like either you came unprepared, or your employer's overestimated your talent's." Naruto said to his assailants with a wicked grin. He scanned the area to see his victim's recovering from the attack. "I will give you one last choice to surrender and face interrogation, or we can keep this up until all of you are left to regret your choice to take me on."

"Don't take us so lightly 'Oh Great Hokage.' This has only begun." Answered the large man with a sarcastic grin.

Naruto looked around to see his seemingly beaten opponents take up their arms once again. The ones that lost their weapons, summoned replacements from small scrolls.

The four shinobi that attacked before, all sprung to attack at the same time. Naruto braced himself as he swung aside the first attack from the claw-shinobi just in time to bend back and dodge the spear thrust of the second shinobi! He planted his swords in the ground behind him, and used that point to push himself upward, making a backflip kick that connected with both the claw and spear shinobi's jaws, launching both of them into the air. Naruto landed on both feet, and followed with a leap upward to attack the airborne opponents. In midair, Naruto released both swords, and twisted his hands to get a backhanded grip on both blades before delivering a double slicing attack aimed at both opponents!

His attack connected on both targets, opening a large slice in each shinobi's vest!

"**Doton Omoi Rensa"** was the sound Naruto heard as he turned himself in the air to look toward the ground. He couldn't respond in time to avoid the chains the came bursting from the ground before they wrapped around his legs.

"Shit!" was the only word that came from Naruto's lips before the chains pulled him back toward the ground! He swung with both charged blades at the chains, but it had no affect as the fire and wind chakra only sizzled at the point of contact! In a moment, Naruto's feet were pulled to the ground before two additional chains burst from the earth and wrapped around Naruto's waist and continued till they wrapped around his arms, forcing him to drop his swords!

The other two shinobi threw their own chains at Naruto, wrapping around the rest of his exposed torso and arms, pulling tight to leave Naruto trapped in the wraps of chains! Naruto tried to struggle out of the chains, but it seemed to weaken him as he tried!

"It would seem that you underestimated US Hokage." Spoke the large man as he continued to channel his chakra into the ground with his palms flat against the earth. "I guess that this is about the time that you figure out our real plan."

Naruto's eyes opened wide with fright as he looked to check on his son. He looked, but couldn't see him in the bushes! "Kakashi!" he shouted! "Kakashi!" His eyes grew angry when he realized that these guys were merely a distraction.

"Now then, here is how this is going to work." The large man said. "You cannot escape from these chains. They will absorb any chakra from your body if you try anything. Any movement will cause the chains to extract the chakra directly from your body, and seeing as your hands are held tight, you can't form any seals either. As you have figured, we have your son held captive as we speak. You will.."

"What? Pay a ransom for my own son?" Interrupted Naruto as his face filled with rage! "KAKASHIII!!" he shouted again as he struggled to break free.

"No use screaming Hokage." Interrupted the large man as he held the jutsu. "That Doton blast wasn't just to hit you. I knew that you'd probably be able to dodge it anyway. Its real purpose was to blind and distract your son long enough for my comrades to jump in and snatch him. Even when you checked on his location after the blast, you saw him still covering himself. Well that was a result of one of my comrade's ability to create that illusion, while in reality, your son was already gone."

"You would dare to take my son?" Naruto spoke as his voice began to deepen to a low roar. Naruto turned his gaze toward his captor as his deep-blue eyes began to darken and his teeth began to lengthen into fangs. "You dare to take my child from me?!" Naruto growled and with a devilish roar shouted, **"You have made your last mistake!"**Naruto shouted as his face continued to change. His eyes had now become totally black until a red glowing orb began to glow in the dark voids of his eyes. His hair began to grow slightly in length, most notably, was the formation of several large blonde braids that started to grow from all around his head and two chunks of hair, that grew out as if to mimic the shape of the nine-tailed fox's ears! The red centers of Naruto's eyes glowed red and started to emit a sort of dark red haze as the nine braids grew to a length nearly at his waist. The scar-like whiskers on his face grew deeper and more defined. His hands, although barely visible beneath the chains, sprouted long black claws from the ends of each finger. He began to emit a sinister dark red chakra that enveloped his body and the chains that held him captive!

"It's no use DevilFox! These chains will absorb even your Bijuu chakra! There is no escape for you!" Shouted the man that was holding the jutsu as he had to forcibly push more chakra into his jutsu to keep Naruto captive.

The dark red chakra that enveloped Naruto's body was being absorbed straight into the chains. Naruto let out a deafening and inhuman roar as a burst of dark red chakra pulsed from his body! The two shinobi holding their chains struggled to maintain their grip on their chains at the blast wave of chakra forced them away from their captive!

Naruto let out another demonic roar as yet another blast of chakra came from his body and soaked into the chains. As he continued to push forth the dark red chakra, the chains began to glow a pale yellow, they were starting to heat up!

The large man struggled to pump more chakra into the jutsu, but it seemed that he couldn't keep up with the massive amount of chakra that poured into the chains. Beads of sweat dripped from his forehead as he struggled to keep the Hokage captive.

With a last push of chakra, Naruto let loose a blast wave of chakra that forced through the chains, bringing them to a bright yellow glow, as they lost their strength and melted away from the Hokage. The two shinobi that were holding onto their chains fell backward as the chains broke! "He broke the chains?! That's impossible!!" Shouted the large man with total shock in his voice!

Dark red chakra flames seemed to flare out in all directions from around the Hokage, keeping his thick braids floating behind the demonic HellFox. The five shinobi stood startled by what they were seeing. They stood frozen, all wide-eyed with fear and sheer panic!

"**I gave you the chance to live. That choice is no longer yours." **Naruto roared with a demonic echo to his voice! Clearly, his voice not only his own anymore. A deep rumbling growl came from him that seemed to shake the very ground the men stood on.

The clawed-shinobi was the first to try and make an offensive against the Hokage. Before he could cover half of the distance to attack, Naruto reached out a clawed hand as a giant semi-translucent, red clawed hand, grabbed hold of the attacking shinobi. **"You will be the first to die."**Naruto spoke slowly in his demonic tone! You could see through the hand that the shinobi's skin and clothes seemed to be burning where it contacted the hand. With a sickening popping sound, the man let loose a blood-curdling scream as it seemed that his ribs had just been broken! As the cries continued, the man burst into a great pillar of dark red flames that reduced his body to a pile of ash in a matter of seconds.

Before Naruto finished off his first opponent, the large shinobi wielding the naganita that was positioned behind Naruto, made an offensive that went seemingly undefended as his blade landed between Naruto's neck and shoulder. "Gotcha!" He shouted as his hit connected!

"**Do you now?" **Responded Naruto as the blade was stopped at the surface of Naruto's skin. Without even turning around, another translucent red hand grabbed hold of the man's arm and lifted it from his weapon. Naruto slowly turned around holding the man's arm above his head, preventing him from moving. **"You are the strong one aren't you?" **Naruto spoke in his echoed, rumbling voice as he looked up at the arm in his demonic hand. Naruto looked at the man's other arm and reached out another red hand, lifting the man off the ground by his arms!

"NOOO! AAAAAH!!" The man screamed in fear and pain as the smell of burning flesh from his arms as a result of contact with the red chakra hands, filled the area. He struggled to pull himself free from the demon's grasp, but even his strength, he was no match for the raw power of the devil's hands. Naruto looked the man straight in his eyes, and with a wicked grin, he said, **"Maybe I should fix that then." **Naruto made the demon-hands twist violently and broke both arms just below the elbow! The force of the break pushed his forearm bones through his skin with a crimson spray that left speckles of blood on Naruto's face!

The screams were deafening as the man was dropped back to the ground below. The man rolled side to side, with his broken arms flopping loosely around. Naruto stepped over the man and proceeded toward the remaining three assailants. The man's screams almost seemed to feed the Naruto's demonic rage as a wide and twisted smile grew across his lips, revealing the long bloodthirsty fangs that he bared in this form.

The raw power of the chakra made the air around Naruto hot enough to make any leaves or vegetation wither away, as if they were being dried out or cooked in the dry heat. There was no reason to suspect that this raw power was subsiding, as it actually seemed to intensify as the carnage continued.

The remaining two smaller shinobi could only look on with wide terror-filled eyes, not sure if they could attack, or flee, even if they wanted to. The awesome power of this being was enough to keep them frozen in place from overwhelming panic. The larger man however, stood strong. Its not to say that he wasn't scared out of mind, but he kept his composure the entire time.

"W.. w.. we can g-g-g-get your son b-b-b-back." The kusari-gama wielding shinobi stuttered with quivering lips. His entire body shook and quivered so uncontrollably that he could barely stand, much less chain together so few words. The man's pants grew wet at the groin, he was wetting himself as a result of his fear.

"**No, I will get my son back. Even if I have to destroy every tree, every rock, and every blade of grass in my country to do it, I will get my son back. But you? .. Hehe… You.." **Naruto spoke with his rumbling echoing voice without letting go of his wide and toothy grin.

The spear and kusari-gama shinobis finally mustered the willpower to attempt to flee. However, their escape was halted by long whip-like tendrils that shot out of Naruto's burning chakra field as the tendrils wrapped around the shinobi's waists. **"There is NO escaping me!"** Naruto said as he proceeded slowly toward his victims and turned his face to look at the tall man still standing at the edge of the previously made clearing. **"And that includes you tall man."** He spoke with narrowed and hate-filled eyes.

Naruto looked back toward the two men held captive in his tendrils and reached out his black-clawed hands as the giant translucent red chakra hands appeared around and grabbed hold of the two shinobi roughly twenty feet in front of Naruto. Naruto motioned with his hands, pulling his captives closer. Their weapons were held in place against their bodies as the chakra burned the skin of the captives. Their screams only seemed to make the demonic Naruto smile even more.

Naruto reached through the left chakra hand, and pulled the spear free, then reached through the right hand, and pulled the kusari-gama pair from the other shinobi.

"Please! P-p-please don't d-d-do this! You are supposed t-t-t-to be a good man!" The right shinobi pleaded. Naruto ignored those words and looked down at the weapons in his hands. They seemed to be made of a reinforced metal of some sort. That's why they were able to withstand the attacks from Arashi and Rekka.

"**Toys."** Naruto muttered as he channeled chakra into the weapons until they began to glow a bright yellow! **"This is real power that you see before you now. Not these toys that you think make you strong. True power comes at a price. A cost that you men could never begin to comprehend." **After he spoke these words, it almost seemed as if tears had formed at the corners of his red eyes as he was reminded of the price that he had paid to fulfill his destiny.

Naruto lifted his head and looked up at his victims with a strange look of rage and sadness combined, as he spoke to his captives. **"Don't even think it!"** He shouted with a demonic roar as he snapped his head around to look behind him at the leader of the group who was trying to sneak up on Naruto and deliver a swing with his hammer-axe!

Naruto's eyes flashed a bright red as four whip-like tendrils lashed out and grabbed the man by his wrists and ankles! His hammer-axe fell to the ground at his feet as he was lifted a couple feet off the ground. The cries of the man with the broken arms finally fell silent. He finally passed out from the pain of his burned skin, broken bones, and loss of blood. But this did little to the sounds coming from the area as the other two captives continued to scream for their lives. Of course, their screams did little more than fuel Naruto's fury.

Naruto turned to face his captives once again, still holding the glowing weapons in his hands. With a look toward the ground, the hands lowered the two men onto the ground, forcing them to their knees as their hands and arms were still held tight against their bodies by the burning demonic hands. Naruto slowly approached the two men whose faces were filled with tears of agony and terror.

"**Now, have your toys back."** Naruto said to the two men kneeling before him as their screams reached a peak. He flipped the spear around to a backhanded grip as he raised it high above his head as he took one last look into the tear-filled eyes and screaming face of the man in front of him. He slammed the spear straight down through the man's mouth, and through to the ground below, impaling the man on his own spear! **"And you."** Naruto turned his attention toward the other man as he took both kamas in his hands, and made two vertical slashes, slicing the arms from the man, before he twisted to a backhanded grip and brought both blades across the man's throat. A second later, the man's head fell loose from his neck as Naruto dismissed the hands, dropping the body to the ground.

"**Now for you." **Naruto muttered in his echoed demonic tone. **"I respect your strength and discipline for keeping your silence during all of this. This is why I am going to give you a choice. Tell me where your accomplices are taking my son, and I shall be merciful and end your life quickly. Refuse, and I shall see to it that you endure tortures and suffering so extreme that your ancestors will feel your pain! Have no illusions; you are going to die at my hands. This is your unavoidable fate now, but how you meet that fate, is up to you." **

The man swallowed as he looked up at the devil before him. The hot chakra wind was so stifling that it seemed to take the very air from his lungs. His eyes were getting dry so fast that he could hardly blink anymore and his wrists and ankles were starting to burn as the tendrils were starting to burn through his armor. The man coughed as he tried to form words, but his mouth was so dry that it hardly made a sound.

"**Don't test my patience criminal."**Naruto snapped as he stared deep into the eyes of his opponent that was now pinned against the ground by the tendrils.

"He.. He.." The man struggled to form words under the oppressive conditions. "He is being taken west of here. They.. They will be taking him to the Rain Country and eventually to the Hidden Rain Village. Go get your son."

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he knew what came from the Hidden Rain Village. It was the base of operations for Akatsuki, whom Naruto had destroyed nearly an entire decade ago.

"**Very well. Then I will uphold my end of the bargain." **Naruto muttered as he reached down for the hammer-axe of his detainee. **"Maybe the God of Death be merciful**." Naruto spoke as he brought the great hammer up from behind him and with a powerful overhead swing, brought it straight down on his victim's head with a loud crunch and spray of crimson blood. There was little more than a red puddle, scattered bits of skull fragments, and small chunks of brain matter.

Naruto looked down at the remains of his last victim, and then looked over the small field of carnage that he had just created. Five warriors bent on kidnapping the son of the Hokage, reduced to piles of ash and bloody carcasses; a testament to the raw fury that had driven Naruto to such actions. As much as the wrath inside him wanted to leave the display as a warning, Naruto knew that such a scene would not be a good thing to have covering the roads of his country.

Naruto lowered his head and closed his glowing red eyes, before spreading his clawed hands outward and upward. He took in a deep breathe and let out a furious roar toward the sky as the entire area suddenly erupted in a great conflagration of hell-born flames! All the bloody remains were incinerated at the fury of the great flames in a matter of seconds. Naruto took another deep breathe and closed his outstretched hands as the flames subsided, leaving only the charred tree branches that were in range of the fire. A light breeze blew away the piles of ash, leaving no evidence of the encounter.

Naruto took back up his Rekka and Arashi swords as he looked toward the west. The red chakra continued to spiral all around his body. The long braids wrapped around his body just like the chakra. Naruto closed his eyes and formed an unknown seal as a swirl of dense red chakra wrapped around his body. As the twists wrapped tighter, Naruto's body vanished as the wraps of chakra disappeared like a dying flame.

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(About a minute after Kakashi's abduction)

Kakashi's arms and wrists were being held, crossed in front of him by a very large muscular man as he was being carried through the trees. Kakashi struggled by kicking, but he was unable to make anything connect. The raw strength of the man was enough to prevent almost any movement whatsoever from Kakashi's arms and hands. Kakashi could see with his Byakugan that there was a second man behind them. That man kept his hands held in a seal.

Kakashi tried to scream, but there was no sound whatsoever. Kakashi could see a small field of chakra that enveloped the three of them. It seemed to be centered on the man behind them. _"He must be using some sort of sound dampening jutsu. No wonder my dad couldn't hear me scream when they grabbed me. That's why I still can't make any sound. I know that we are still headed west, but a lot of good that will do me. I need to escape and stop them long enough for my dad to catch up." _Kakashi thought as he continued to struggle.

Suddenly, an idea came to him. _"OK, I need to time this just right."_ Kakashi thought as his captor was nearing the next branch to push off of. _"He alternates which foot lands on the branch each time he lands. When he prepares for his foot to land, he extends his leg. This will be the left leg, and the next will be his right. I'll make my move then."_ The man pushed off of the branch with his left leg as anticipated. _"OK Kakashi, here it comes."_ The man carrying him neared the next branch and reached out his right leg to get a foothold.

With a snap of motion, Kakashi kicked down on the man's leg just before it connected with the branch. The man's foot was pushed below the branch and the man tripped and began to topple forward. In his attempt to regain control, he released one arm holding onto Kakashi's right hand. Kakashi struck the man on his right side behind Kakashi as he delivered a Gentle Fist style hit to his ribs. He immediately followed with a hit to his right hip, and his left arm that had been holding his other hand.

The man buckled over at the pain that shot through his right side as the pain to his left hand caused him to let go of Kakashi altogether. Kakashi grabbed the man's left hand and pulled himself around to face his opponent. While the man was still recovering, he delivered several blows to the man's chest and arms as they continued to fall to the forest floor below. Kakashi couldn't help but to have a wide ear-to-ear grin on his face at the success of his plan thus far.

While falling in midair, Kakashi could see that they were nearing the ground at a tremendous rate of speed as they had in fact fallen out of the other man's jutsu range. Kakashi used the man's curling-in-pain body as an opportunity to grab the man's black vest and pull himself over the man, placing him between the ground and himself. Just a moment before they landed, Kakashi grabbed tightly to the shoulders of the man's vest and pushed his knee into the man's back.

With a loud crash and a cloud of dust, they landed hard on the ground below! Kakashi wasted no time before he rolled off the man and grabbed four shuriken from his pouch. As soon as he gained his footing, he hurled all four shuriken directly at the man that was diving toward the ground! The man released his hands from the seal and put his arms in front of him to block the shuriken. All four shuriken landed on the man's arms when suddenly with a puff of smoke, the man disappeared and revealed a small log with the shuriken imbedded in it.

Kakashi made a smirk as he continued to chew his gum. _"A replacement jutsu. I would at least hope that these guys could do THAT much if they planned on abducting the son of the Hokage." _He could see that the blows he landed to the big man were enough to keep him somewhat incapacitated for the time being.

"_This guy is probably gonna be stronger than me, so I'll need to get the upper hand if I am gonna stall them. I caught the big guy off guard by luck. I might not be so lucky with this other guy." _Kakashi thought as he kept scanning the area for any sign of the other man. _"I might have to use my own jutsu, but I have to be careful because I haven't perfected it yet. THERE you are!" _Kakashi thought as he noticed the man appear about ten yards behind him on a tree branch.

Kakashi spun around and crossed his arms in front of his chest. **"Uzumaki Senbon"** He shouted as three points of chakra formed between his fingers on each hand. Kakashi threw first with his right hand three needles of chakra at his target on the branch. He immediately threw again with his left hand toward where the man was moving to dodge the first throw. The second grouping hit his left leg just as intended causing the man to lose his balance in midair and miss the next branch!

As the man tripped over the branch, Kakashi wasted no time in preparing six more needles in his hands as he threw all six needles just below the branch where the man was headed after tripping over the branch. Four of the needles connected with his torso causing the man to fold over his left side from the surge of pain. The needles had only remained for about a second before dissipating, leaving no visible signs of penetration! Kakashi rushed toward where the man was going to land as he drew out the Hatake Tanto that his father had just given him. The white chakra started to glow from the blade as Kakashi switched to backhanded grip as he neared his target location.

He made a sweeping attack toward the man's torso, only to be blocked by a kunai! The man recovered mid-fall just in time to defend against the attack before landing hard on his right side. The man rolled just in time to block Kakashi's second attack with the tanto with his kunai as he used his motion to land a kick to Kakashi's right hand, knocking the tanto from the young blonde's hand! Kakashi flipped backward, avoiding a follow-up sweeping kick aimed at his feet!

"_He's pretty quick. I'm gonna have to trick him somehow. I have to remember father's taijutsu training. He taught me how to fake my movements, but I haven't quite got it down yet. Probably wouldn't be enough to fool this guy."_ Kakashi thought as he regained his footing. _"Dangit, that kick kinda hurt my hand."_ He thought as he chewed his gum and shook his right hand.

The other man stood up, hugging his left arm tight to his side. He was clearly still hurting from the needles that hit that side. "Give up kid." The man scowled as he gripped his kunai in his right hand with a backhanded grip. "You got lucky with those needle things of yours, but don't think that it's gonna happen again."

"I wouldn't expect it to." Kakashi replied with a smirk as he crossed his arms again and created his chakra needles. **"Uzumaki Senbon"** but he was only able to form three needles in his left hand, and one in his right hand. He started toward his target as he hurled his single right needle toward the man's left side! The man predictably dodged that needle as Kakashi threw his next three needles toward the man's right side. The man dodged from that attack as he himself started his run toward Kakashi as he saw the end of Kakashi throwing again with his left hand!

"That little shit! He faked the second throw!" The man shouted as he ran right into the three needles aimed directly at the center of his chest! The man folded over in pain and slid into the ground in front of him as Kakashi continued his charge. Kakashi closed the gap just as the man rolled to a halt! Kakashi followed with a barrage of Gentle Fist style hits all across the man's body before he was able to recover from his fall! The pain from each hit came so fast that the man was unable to defend properly.

Finally, Kakashi raised his hand to deliver a knockout blow when he saw a log flying toward him from behind! Kakashi managed to roll away just in time to avoid the brunt of the attack, but was still hit on his right side by a branch that stuck out from the side of the log as it spun past him. The force from the blow was enough to knock Kakashi against a nearby tree. Kakashi managed to curl in just enough to avoid hitting his head on the tree!

Quickly, he flipped up to his feet to face his attacker! He hugged his right side with his right hand as the hit had definitely caused at least some bruising to his ribs. _"Dangit! That hurts!"_ Kakashi thought as he rolled to the side to dodge yet another log thrown from the same direction! _"The big guy must have woken up!"_

"Give up kid! You are lucky that we need you alive!" Shouted the voice from behind the trees.

Kakashi could see that it was indeed the big man and that he was grabbing another branch to throw! Kakashi was panting and wincing from the pain in his ribs with each breath. _"C'mon Kakashi, You only need to hold out long enough for dad to get here."_ He thought to himself as he formed three more chakra needles in his left hand and started to circle to the left.

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(A couple of minutes later)

In a great explosion of red chakra flames, Naruto appeared in the middle of the dense forest!

"**Kakashi!"** He shouted with a deafening roar as he ran desperately through the woods toward the faint source of chakra that he could feel ahead of him! He ran on all fours as fast as he could! His claws dug deep into the ground to give him a better footing as he launched himself forward with each stride! His great long braids waved behind him as the trail of burning chakra left a visible burnt path as he ran! His face was filled with rage and panic at the same time as his eyes remained trained on the ground ahead of him! His teeth were clenched tight as his fangs showed through his gritted snarl!

Suddenly, he came to a sudden stop and stood up straight! His eyes opened wide and shock filled his face at the sight before him.

"**KAKASHI!"**

Well then, that was Chapter 8. Yes, it was quite a bit longer then my usual, but it had to be that way. Now I know I have some explaining to do, but rest assured, those explanations will come in future chapters so please be patient. The best is yet to come.

**Jutsu Guide: **

-Arashi Kirite: Arashi Wind Cutter. Crescent shaped Wind chakra blade that travels away from the jutsu user.

-Fuuton Bakuha: Wind Blast. A blast wave of compressed Wind chakra that is blasted outward.

-Rekka Sensuifu: Rekka Fire Diver. A Trail of fire that travels along the ground away from the Rekka sword.

-Doton Kiretsu Shuuha: Earth Style, Fissure Wave. Creates pockets of empty space under the ground causing unstable ground.

-Fuuton Omoi Reza-Kirite: Wind Style, Great Razor Cutter. A beefed up version of the original Wind Cutter that uses clones to make the wave bigger.

-Fuuton Nijuu Bakuha: Wind Style, Double Blast. Same as the Fuuton Bakuha above but 2 shots fired simultaneously.

-Arashi Jiseki: Arashi Wind Trace. A line of Wind chakra follows the path of whatever is connected to Arashi. (I.e. chakra line that follows the chain)

-Rekka Jiseki: Rekka Fire Trace. Same as above except that it is Fire chakra instead of Wind.

-Doton Bakuha: Earth Blast. A blast of Earth chakra that causes a small eruption of rocks, dirt, and sand.

-Doton Omoi Rensa: Earth Style, Great Chains. A unique technique that summons chakra absorbing chains to wrap up a victim.

-Uzumaki Kakashi's unique jutsu: He is able to solidify chakra into very simple forms for a very short period of time. The forms dissipate after a few seconds. (I.e. chakra senbon needles)


	9. Chapter 9 Uzumaki Kakashi

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-1Chapter 9 - Uzumaki Kakashi. Well, the title says it all really. This chapter is dedicated to Uzumaki Kakashi, the son of Naruto. As far as timeline goes, this starts when Naruto is 21 yrs old which is 6 years before the otherwise "current" timeline of the Hokage Naruto and Blind Sasuke as it pertains to the rest of the story. 

Tears welled up in almost every eye in the room, and a calming silence filled the room from wall to wall. There he was; the first son of the new Hokage Uzumaki Naruto. Wrapped in fresh blankets, he lay cradled in the loving arms of his mother, Uzumaki Hinata. He was born with a full head of the same blonde hair as his father, and the all-seeing white eyes of his mother. Hinata and Naruto had been married nearly a year when this blessing from Kami arrived at the Konoha hospital. Now former-Hokage, Lady Tsunade presided over the birth herself. It was a birth that came with hardly any complications whatsoever. He was born of average size and weight, a perfect child. 

From his birth, he had been somewhat of a matter of controversy. First of all, he was the first-ever recorded Byakugan user to be born with blonde hair. Second of all, was the fact that he was not to take the Hyuuga clan's name. Still leader of the Main House of the Hyuuga clan, Hyuuga Hiashi insisted that the child be branded with the Juin Jutsu, otherwise known as the Cursed Branch Family seal. 

This lead to a great deal of turmoil as Naruto would not allow his son to be branded with the mark of a slave. In fact, Naruto declared that the practice of placing the Branch Family Curse Seal become a forbidden act. Even despite the threats of abandonment of Konoha by some elder members of the Main Family, Naruto proceeded to outlaw the practice altogether. This also meant that the Cursed Seals that had previously been applied to Branch Family members be removed. With a great amount of work between some elder members of the Hyuuga Clan and some of the Sealing specialists of the village, a method was devised to remove the Seal. 

Naruto declared that there was never again to be any slaves in his village of Konoha. Faced with the choice of exile, or cooperation with the young Hokage's decision, a very small number of elder Hyuuga's chose exile. Those few, including Hiashi, left the village, never to be heard from again. As a secondary result of the Hokage's decree, the Main and Branch families would be united under the singular Hyuuga clan name. Since the Branch Family technically no longer existed, Hyuuga Neji was somewhat reluctantly appointed as the new Head of the Hyuuga clan. However Neji, as full of pride as he was, never let go of his status as a member of the Branch Family. To this day, he still holds a certain amount of contempt for members of the former Main Family, but he treats his position as Clan Head with the respect that it deserved anyway. 

So there he laid asleep, wrapped in blankets that were made especially for him with the spiraled emblem of the Uzumaki clan sewn in. His fate was yet completely unwritten and his story yet to be started. Hinata lay on the bed holding her sleeping son in her arms, with her husband Naruto at her side. The room was filled with some of their closest friends. Rock Lee, Hyuuga Neji, Inuzuka Kiba, and Nara Shikamaru just to name a few. Many had not been able to be present at the birth because of day to day missions that kept them away. As was the case anytime the son of a Hokage was born, it was a day of great celebration. A celebration that lasted a full three days to be exact. 

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At only a couple months of age, he was already able to not only walk, but run as well. He already showed the signs of being a genius at his young age. Unfortunately for the village, as he grew, he also developed the same tendencies of his father to cause grief to his fellow villagers. By the age of four, he had already pulled one of his father's own pranks and painted graffiti all over the faces of the Hokages on the Konoha mountainside. That was when it was decided that he was to enter the Ninja Academy at age four. In little more than a year, he became the youngest graduate to grace the halls of the ninja academy since the man that originally bore his name. He was only five years old. 

With the help of private tutoring by Hyuuga Neji, Ebisu, and his father, his skills in the shinobi arts were unbelievable for a person of such a young age. His throwing skills already rivaled that of many Chuunin ranked shinobi as a result of his own insistence to train his throwing skills alone. 

He had also been training his skills with the arts of the Gentle Fist under his mother and Clan Head Hyuuga Neji. He caused much grief to Neji as Kakashi had a grasp of the art of the Gentle Fist that even Neji had trouble with at such an age. However, Kakashi's unique chakra posed problems in his training. It seemed that Kakashi had troubles limiting his chakra bursts to the range that conventional Gentle Fist styled fighting would call for. Also, his Byakugan was so keen that he was one of the few Byakugan users that were able to see Tenketsu points; a feat that by itself, was remarkable. However, as he would say it, Neji refused to teach the Divination arts to Kakashi because he was yet too young to wield such lethal power. 

Frustrated knowing about the Divination arts and that Neji wouldn't teach him, Kakashi spent many long days training his own chakra molding using the knowledge that he had been taught by Ebisu. He had overheard a discussion that Neji had with some of the clan elders about Kakashi's unusual chakra density, although the specifics evaded his understanding at the time. As a result of his keen sense for chakra molding, combined with his knowledge of how chakra works, and the idea from the particular word 'density', eventually he became able to mold his chakra to a density that it actually became solid, if but only a few seconds. In time, he was able to mold his chakra into specific forms that he was able to utilize in combat such as needles, kunai, and even shuriken. However, the more detailed the shape, the harder it was to mold, and the shorter of a time it remained solid.

As skilled and young as he was, he chose to keep this jutsu sort of a secret. Only he and his father actually know about his unique talent. It was suggested by Naruto that with enough training with his Byakugan, his throwing skill, and the eventual training in the Divination arts, that he would someday be able to perform a ranged variation of the lethal jutsu. For this reason, he began to primarily mold Senbon Needles for the purposes of someday being able to disable specific Tenketsu points at range. Also, with as simple of a form as the needle was, it had the most longevity in its solid form when compared to other shapes. The needles were small enough to penetrate the body easily; however the real damage came after the hit. When the needles dissipated, they did so with a small burst of chakra that was strong enough to cause damage to the chakra circulatory system. 

It became one of Naruto's biggest regrets about taking the position of Hokage that he was unable to spend as much time with his son as he would have liked. In the little time that they did have, Naruto worked tirelessly to train his son in the arts of Taijutsu and Ninjutsu. Unfortunately, despite or maybe even because of, Kakashi's unique chakra, he had a lot of difficulty in holding onto the Kage Bunshin for training purposes. It always resulted in an extreme amount of chakra fatigue for Kakashi whenever he tried to use more than a single clone. However, the fact that he was a genius when it came to learning the ninja arts, helped to compensate for this shortcoming as he was an extremely fast learner. Occasionally when his schedule would allow, Naruto would go on minor missions with his son just so they could spend the time together. 

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As was the case with all newly graduated Genin, there came the time that Kakashi was assigned to a Genin team. As fate would have it, Sarutobi Konohamaru would be assigned his team leader. Konohamaru was the founder and Elite Jounin leader of the Konohamaru Corps (later renamed Konoha Corps) along with his childhood friends Moegi and Udon. The trio had gone on to achieve a great deal of notoriety and renown for their efficient and timely manner of completing many difficult missions in succession, and without having to return to Konoha. Konohamaru himself, now eighteen years old, had personally requested that he be allowed to mentor the team of his idol's son. He had become a rather muscular man of great stature. He had a black goatee and short black hair. He wore the standard forehead protector of the Leaf and his clothing was that of the standard Leaf Jounin uniform with the green flak vest, and blue shirt and pants. 

Little Kakashi walked into the infamous Survival Training Grounds where his father had taken his first Genin test with Team7 under Hatake Kakashi. By this time, he had established his own look of choice. He had his forehead protector riveted into a plain red bandana that he wore over his shaggy yellow hair. He claimed that it saved him time to put on the bandana versus combing his hair everyday. He wore knee-length black pants and black sandals. His right leg was also wrapped with bandages up to just below the knee. He also wore an elbow-length mesh shirt under his dark red flak vest that matched his father's own. His was made custom-tailored for him because it had a few extra hidden inside pockets in which he kept his candy and bubble gum hidden. He also wore fingerless gloves on both hands and on his right forearm, he had a gauntlet of sorts that had several darts and senbon needles hidden inside. 

He walked into the clearing in the trees and before him, sitting on one of the posts where his own father had been tied in his own Genin test, was his Genin team leader, Sarutobi Konohamaru. 

"Hehe. So there you are Kakashi." spoke Konohamaru as Kakashi walked toward him. "Well you're a bit early aren't you?" 

"Yeah, just a little bit sensei. I hope that's OK." Answered Kakashi with a blush. "Where are the others? Haven't they showed up yet?"

"Nah. Not yet." Konohamaru responded. "You know how girls can be."

"Girls?" Kakashi responded with a look of surprise in his face. Poor little Kakashi kept himself so busy with his training and schoolwork, that his social skills, especially those that involved girls, were less than great. "You mean, like more than one?" 

"Uuhh.. Yeah. Didn't they tell you who your teammates were?" Konohamaru asked with a sarcastic grin. 

"Well, not really. They told me that they were in a different class so I wouldn't recognize them anyway. So I might as well just meet them here." Answered Kakashi as he rubbed the back of his head. 

"Aah! There's your first teammate right now!" Chimed Konohamaru as he pointed toward the entrance to the field

Kakashi turned around toward the entrance, whereupon his jaw nearly hit the ground in sheer amazement. Walking slowly toward them was the one and only Inuzuka Kinari. To Kakashi, it seemed as if she was walking in slow motion as her long and curly brown hair flowed in the light breeze. Her bright green eyes seemed to glisten in the sunlight as they were surrounded by a thin line of dark eyeliner and the red, claw-like markings of the Inuzuka clan that ran down her pale cheeks. She had pouty pink lips that trapped Kakashi's gaze as his mind was suddenly filled with a flood of emotions that he had never experienced before, and quite frankly, only left him rather befuddled. She wore a dark blue high-cut sleeveless jacket with a fur trimmed hood that hung open. The fur trim was a soft sky-blue color and shimmered in the rays of sunlight due to the silver flakes imbedded in it. Under the small jacket, she wore a quarter-length sleeve mesh shirt over a sky-blue snug-fitting top that was cutoff high above her waist, exposing her mesh covered midriff. She also wore a sky-blue short skirt with white trim that was split on the sides over a pair of tight dark-blue pants that went to just below the knee. Her forehead protector plate was set into her belt that hung loosely around her waist as it hung at a slight angle. She wore black sandals that laced to the ankles and black fingerless gloves on both of her hands. Being the fashion conscious girl that she was, she refused to wear bandage wraps around her arms or legs. 

She walked alongside her puppy. He had a gleaming black and white coat that was clearly very well maintained by his master Kinari judging from its sheen. For his young age of only about a year old, he was quite large. He was nearly at Kinari's knee at his shoulder. His back was covered in black, as was his tail and the black mask over his face that covered his eyes. He had a pure-white snout and belly, and his legs were all white except for his front right foot which was black up to a couple inches above his paw. His name was Hishumaru which meant dagger boy. He got the name when he was a very young pup from the fact that when Kiba tried to handle him for the first time, he bit straight into Kiba's hand, drawing blood. Kiba commented that his teeth were like daggers and so it became his name. He was a very rowdy pup until he was picked up by Kinari for the first time. Instantly, he knew who his master was, and from that day forward, became extremely protective of her, lashing out at anyone that he didn't know that approached his master.

Kakashi was dumbstruck by the beauty before him. "H.. H.. Hello?" Kakashi finally stammered as his cheeks flushed dark red and he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. Konohamaru chuckled quietly at Kakashi's pathetic display of female interaction as he covered his mouth to mask his laughter. 

Kinari looked up at the little boy in front of her and rolled her eyes before focusing on her fingernails. "Please tell me that this little boy isn't my teammate sensei." Kinari spoke with a displeased tone in her voice. 

"Hehe. He sure is Kinari." Answered Konohamaru with a chuckle. 

"What is he? Four years old?" Kinari scoffed. 

"HEY! I'm five I'll have you know! And if it weren't for the fact that you are a girl, I'd kick your butt!" Kakashi piped up in defense of himself as he balled up his fists and held them tight to his sides. 

At this, Hishumaru snarled and barked at Naruto fiercely. He knew that tone and what it meant. To him, it meant that he was about to bite somebody. "Is that so?" Kinari responded as she looked down at her dog and nodded her head. Hishumaru jumped into a full sprint toward Kakashi. 

Not about to be caught off guard by the dog, he prepared himself for the attack before Konohamaru jumped in front of him and grabbed Hishumaru by the scruff of his neck. "Now, now. We will have none of that this soon!" Konohamaru ordered sternly. 

"HEY! Put my dog down!" Kinari screamed at her sensei as she ran toward him and took Hishumaru in her arms. "It's OK boy." She said to her dog as she ran her hand across his back. She raised her eyes and scowled at Kakashi, who immediately flushed red in the cheeks again and lowered his head. 

"What did I miss?" Came a voice from the entrance of the training grounds. The team looked up and saw another little girl skipping into the training grounds. "I'm Aburame Kagera!" She had jet-black hair that was tied up into several pigtails that were scattered all over her head. The dark sunglasses that were most often worn by members of her clan were set on top of her head, revealing deep purple eyes. The only way to describe her smiling face was that she was just plain cute. She wore a waist-length gray jacket with overly-long sleeves that flapped to and fro as her arms swung while she skipped. Her jacket was unbuttoned revealing a simple green shirt that went to just above the waist. Her shirt had a picture of a large dragonfly on it; Dragonfly being the basic meaning of her name. Her forehead protector hung loosely around her neck and she wore simple dark-blue pants that went to just below her knees. Her pants had several pockets up and down the legs that judging from the way they moved when she skipped, all had something in them. If not for the belt that held tight at her waist, they surely would fall from the sheer weight. She had bandaging on her right leg and she also wore plain black sandals that laced up to just above the ankle. 

"Well he's a little cutie isn't he?" She said as she pointed at Kakashi who once again, blushed red in the cheeks. "Is he gonna be our teammate sensei?" 

"Yep! Girls, this is Uzumaki Kakashi." Konohamaru responded with a smile as he tapped his hand on Kakashi's shoulder. 

The girls had a look of surprise on their faces at the mere mention of the name Uzumaki. Neither of the girls had ever met him before or even knew what he looked like. Kinari was too preoccupied with her own affairs to ever pay attention to the world around her. She was a very precocious little girl and was already known for her ego and superiority complex. Kagera was a textbook tomboy that spent her free time rummaging through the forests in search of more bugs. 

"WOW! He's the Hokage's son?" Kagera responded looking up at Konohamaru as he responded with a nod. "Hey! It's nice to meet ya! I'm Kagera!" She spoke as she extended her hand for a handshake as she smiled wide with closed eyes. 

Still caught off guard by her totally different attitude from Kinari, he extended his hand for the shake as she grabbed hold with both hands and shook till it felt like Kakashi's shoulder was about to come loose. "Hey! You wear your bandages on your right leg too! Just like me!" She said with an excited smile as she pointed at Kakashi's leg. 

"Uuhh.. Yeah." Was about all that Kakashi could muster as his cheeks finally recovered their normal tone. 

"Humph. " Kinari only sneered at little Kakashi and tipped her nose upward and turned her back to the five year old. 

"OK then. You two already know each other right?" Konohamaru asked of his two female pupils. Kagera responded for the both of them with a big smiling nod. Konohamaru turned his attention toward the five year old blonde. "Well as I'm sure you have already figured out Kakashi, they are a few years older than you are. They are both eight years old. It's not often that we get a five year old that graduates from the academy." The difference was clear by the dramatic difference in their heights. Kinari was the tallest of the group with Kagera just a little bit shorter. Poor little Kakashi however, was almost an entire foot shorter than Kinari. 

"Well, I suppose we can get on with your first Genin test." Konohamaru said with a smile as he reached into his pocket and pulled out two bells on strings and held them up in front of the trio. 

"Uuhh… Sensei? Is this the test where you make us fight for the bells to compete for two lunches to test our teamwork? Cuz, my dad told me about this test and I brought my own lunch just in case." Kakashi responded as he reached into his small backpack and pulled out a brown paper bag. 

Absolutely dumbstruck, Konohamaru looked at the other two girls who each responded with a nod indicating that they had each brought a lunch also. "Hmm… I guess that test has kinda been done into the ground ever since Hatake Kakashi used it for your father's team eh?" He said as he looked down at Kakashi who only nodded with a grin on his face. "Well, I guess I'm going to have to do something a little different then. Hmm…" He placed his hand on his chin while he thought about a new idea. He turned around and sat with his back against one of the posts. 

In the meantime, Kagera made pleasant conversation with Kakashi about her hobbies, namely collecting bugs, and drilling him on his hobbies. For Kakashi, the answer was simple. He trained. From the day that he was big enough to hold a kunai, he had trained in the ninja arts. 

"Well what do you do for fun?" Asked Kagera with a somewhat confused look on her face. 

"I train! That's about it! For as long as I can remember, I just wanted to learn how to fight." Kakashi answered. Even during school, he was so occupied with his studies that he didn't bother to make a lot of friends. Just like his father, he was driven to become the greatest shinobi ever. "Well… I guess I like to pull pranks on people. I like to see people laugh when I pull off a good practical joke. There was this one time…" 

"You like pranks too?" Kagera responded with glee in her smiley face. "I love practical jokes! Were you the one that painted the Hokage's faces last year?"

"Yep! That was me!" Kakashi answered with a big smile on his face as he puffed up his chest. "Did it all by myself!" 

"Heehee! I loved that one! I like to sneak up behind people, and make bugs crawl over them!" Kagera responded with a big laugh. "You should see the way that people freak out when they feel a bug crawling up their neck!" 

Both of the kids laughed so hard that their sides hurt. Kinari however, would have none of this 'childish' conversation. She was WAY too mature to take part in this kind of conversation. Instead, she found a clean rock to sit on, pulled a brush out of her pouch, and started to groom Hishumaru's fur. But as the time passed with Kakashi and Kagera laughing as they shared their stories, even Kinari grew a little bit jealous. 

"Hey Kakashi, come here." She beckoned as she waved for him to come to where she sat. She put on a big friendly smile and tossed her hair behind her shoulders, revealing her long, elegant neck. 

Kakashi's face turned bright red yet again as this beauty of a girl asked for him to come to her. _"Why would she want ME to come over there with the way she treated me earlier?" _He thought as he froze in place, terrified and confused. Suddenly, he was pushed forward as Kagera slapped him on the back. 

"Well go on." Kagera spoke with a smile as she gestured toward their teammate. "I don't THINK she'll bite, but I don't know about the dog. Heehee" 

Kakashi glared at Kagera, in disbelief that his new friend would put him on the spot like that. Slowly, he started walking toward the brunette beauty. He kept looking back at Kagera who just kept gesturing for him to go on with that big smile on her face. _"Well she wouldn't tell me to do something that would be dangerous. . . Would she?"_ Kakashi thought about Kagera. 

Eventually, he came to about ten feet from Kinari as she set Hishumaru on the ground. "C'mon. I won't bite." She said as she gestured with her hand for Kakashi to sit on the rock next to him. Hishumaru snarled at Kakashi as he came near. "Oh, go play with Kagera or something Hishumaru." As she waved her dog away. Hishumaru ran toward Kagera who was waiting with open arms and a big smile as Hishumaru jumped into her arms and knocked her over. 

Eventually, Kakashi sat down on the large rock next to Kinari, careful to still keep his distance as much as he could while not falling off. His face was still beet red as he kicked his feet and looked at the ground. Kinari placed her soft light-skinned hand on Kakashi's shoulder as he immediately flushed even redder than he already was. _"What the heck is going on!" _He thought to himself, trying so hard to cover his embarrassment. _"I'm just a little kid!"_

"Do you think I'm pretty?" Kinari asked as she looked into Kakashi's almost startled face. She batted her eyelashes and made a bashful smile. 

He tried, but he couldn't form any words and only managed to pull out a simple jittery nod in response. 

"Really? That's sweet." Kinari responded as she put on a friendly smile. "I'll bet that you are a really sweet little kid huh?"

Once again, words escaped Kakashi's grasp as he just nodded once again. 

"Have you ever kissed a girl before Kakashi?" She asked as his poor young face grew extremely pale, almost as if he had just seen a ghost. She looked deep into his poor confused white eyes as she made another bashful smile. She reached out and pulled off his forehead protector and rubbed the emblem of the Leaf Village with her thumbs. 

The events that were going on, didn't evade Konohamaru's attention as he turned his eyes toward his students on the stone. He had a big smile on his face as he knew Kinari's reputation as a cruel flirt, even at such a young age. _"Poor kid. He never stood a chance."_

Kakashi tried his hardest to answer. "Well… My mom kisses me on the forehead every night before I go to sleep."

Kinari giggled at the anticipated response as she covered her face to try to conceal her laughter. "No silly. Not like that. Have you ever kissed a GIRL before?" She put out her most seductive eyes as she asked the bashful five year old. 

"Well… She IS a girl." Kakashi replied as his cheeks actually began to feel warm from the flow of blood. He still had no idea of what was going on. He didn't understand his body's reaction at all! 

"No. Not like your mom. I meant a girl like me." Kinari replied as she continued to try and seduce the hapless child. She was trying her hardest to keep herself from bursting into tears of laughter. 

"Uuhh… Uummm…" Was all that Kakashi could mutter as he rubbed the back of his head. "No."

Konohamaru was trying his hardest to hold his laughter at the poor child's embarrassment. Kagera had joined their sensei as she knelt next to him while she continued petting Hishumaru. 

"Would you like to kiss me?" Kinari asked as she pulled back and made a bashful smile of her own, batting her eyelashes and making her cheeks flush. 

"Uumm… Uumm… " Kakashi struggled just to form words. His nerves made him shake at the very thought of kissing this beauty that sat next to him at this very moment. He still didn't understand why, but his body was acting on its own at this point. _"What the heck!"_ Ran though his mind repeatedly as he looked toward Kinari once again. _"Think about your training! Think about your training!"_ He thought as he tried to overcome what was happening to him. Unfortunately for him, nothing he had learned would be of any help in this situation.

Kinari placed her hand on little Kakashi's upper shoulder and she tugged ever so slightly on his neck. Kakashi was forced to look directly into Kinari's closed eyes and puckered lips. Kakashi's eyes opened wide with shock before his body began to feel kinda numb, and then grow limp. He tried his hardest to overcome what was happening, but eventually, everything went blurry and his eyes slowly closed. 

As Kinari let loose her grip on his neck, Kakashi's young body went totally limp as he fell backward hitting the back of his head on the rock that he was sitting on. Slowly, he slid off the side of the large rock, and with an unfortunate landing, hit his unprotected forehead on another smaller rock below. 

Konohamaru and Kagera couldn't contain their laughter anymore as they each burst into tear-filled, sidesplitting laughter. Kinari laughed a quiet little cackle, careful to not lose her ladylike composure, and reached behind her to grab her compact that she had stowed in her back pouch. She flipped it open and checked herself out for a few moments with that wicked grin on her face. Kagera couldn't stop herself from rolling on the ground with her hands around her pained sides from all the laughter. 

A few moments later, once he had regained his own composure, Konohamaru stood up and walked toward little Kakashi's unconscious body. "That was just plain old cruel Kinari" He said with a smile to his young female pupil as he picked up Kakashi's limp body and effortlessly hoisted it over his shoulder. Kinari only made that same wicked smile as she looked up at her sensei. "As for the two of you, meet me at the main gate of the Forest of Death tomorrow morning at seven o'clock sharp. I will see to it that Kakashi gets the message." He said before raising a single handed seal and disappearing in a puff of smoke. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning, at the main gate of the Forest of Death, Kagera, Kinari and Hishumaru arrived a little bit early. Of course, Kinari sat quietly with her dog while Kagera jumped all around in excitement about what kinds of new bugs she would be able to discover in the Forest of Death if that was where they were to go. 

"I wonder why he is having us meet in here anyway. This place is used for the Chuunin Exams. Why would he wanna put us in there?" Kagera asked as she looked up at the tall fence. "Hey! Look at that centipede! It's HUGE! I hope I get a chance to see one of them inside!" 

Kinari glanced toward where Kagera was pointing when she saw the giant centipede that was crawling around a tree just past the fence. "AAiieee!" She screamed as she jumped away from the fence and pulled out a kunai on instinct! Hishumaru barked relentlessly at the giant insect. "That's disgusting! He had better not make us go in there!" 

"What's that matter? Afraid of a little bug?" Came the voice of an upset little boy from behind her. The girls turned their attention toward little Kakashi as he walked slowly toward the group with his hands in his pockets. Both girls chuckled and pointed at the bandage covering almost half of his forehead. However, instead of his usual happy smile, he had a scowl across his lips and a glare focused on Kinari's face as he walked past. He couldn't even wear his forehead protector because of the bump on his skull. Instead, he just had it hanging around his neck. 

"Oooh. I'm sorry for laughing Kakashi." Kagera apologized with a soft tone of voice as she rubbed his shoulder. "Chin-up buddy! We might get to go into the Forest of Death today! Isn't that exciting?" She glared up at Kinari and gestured with her eyes toward Kakashi. 

Kinari sighed and rolled her eyes as she walked up to Kakashi. "I'm sorry kid. I didn't expect for you to actually get hurt. I hope that bump doesn't hurt too badly." She tried her best to put on an apologetic smile, but it must have not been enough. Kakashi still just crossed his arms and stared at the ground as he leaned against the great fence. 

Finally, Konohamaru appeared with a puff of smoke and break the tension. "Hey guys. Sorry I was a bit late. I had to arrange a few things first." The three team-members each stood at attention and listened to their team leader. "Here's how this is going to work. Scattered throughout the Forest of Death, are three special packages that are tailored to each of your specific tracking abilities. For Kakashi, there is a special shuriken hidden somewhere that has a chakra-emitting tag on it. By using your Byakugan, you will be able to see that chakra signature and then find your package. For Kagera, there is a rare female Kikai bug in a jar. By using your insects for tracking, you should be able to find your new bug with ease. For our little fashion plate, there is a bottle of the finest perfume that I could find in Konoha. By using your own and Hishumaru's keen sense of smell, you shouldn't have a lot of problems finding the bottle. 

"OOH! I've been looking for a female Kikai bug!" Kagera cheered as she jumped up and down with excitement. 

"Now, here's the tricky part. Also scattered throughout the forest, are six keys that will also require each of your own special tracking abilities to find. You will need those keys to unlock your packages." Konohamaru checked too see that he had the teammate's undivided attention. "Now, here's where your teamwork will come into play. Each of your packages is double locked and will require two of the keys that are hidden throughout the forest. The keys that will be required to unlock each of your packages will be the ones that only your other two teammates will be able to find. Please remember also, that each of these keys can only be used once so you will need to find all six keys." 

"Wow. That sounds tough. I guess we are gonna have to stay together to accomplish the mission." Kakashi added as he uncrossed his arms and looked at his teammates with a focused gaze. 

Konohamaru spoke once again. "I've taken the liberty to prepare a pack for each of you that will have the necessary items needed to survive for two days in the forest." He pulled three small packs from over his shoulder and handed them to each of the teammates. "Now, I suggest that you get started. Once you have all three items, bring them to the tower in the center of the forest. I will be waiting there for you." He walked toward the gate, unlocked it, and pulled it open. 

The three teammates started toward the gate as they threw their packs over their shoulders. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention. Each of the items are booby-trapped and will require that the three of you work together to get to the packages. Also, my own teammates Moegi and Udon will also be roaming around in the forest. They are there to distract you, delay you, and generally cause problems for all of you. Rest assured that if you hope to succeed here, you will absolutely need to rely on each other." He gestured toward the forest and though the gate as the team walked slowly through. Konohamaru closed and locked the gate behind them. "Oh yeah, you have four days or all of you will be sent back to the Ninja Academy." 

"Four days! But you said that the packs only have enough to last for two days!" Kinari piped up with anger in her eyes! 

"Well I guess that you will have to work together to figure out how to survive then won't you?" Konohamaru responded with a smirk before he disappeared in a puff of smoke. 

"Well, we all heard Konohamaru-sensei. We will have to learn how to work together to accomplish this task and I have no intention of going back to the academy." Kakashi ordered to his teammates as he started into the Forest of Death with a look of determination on his face. He pulled off the bandage that covered a small cut and bump on his forehead and tied his plated bandana securely. "Now let's get going." 

"_I think I'm in love."_ Kagera thought with beaming eyes as she clasped her hands in front of her smiling face. 

"_That little kid is a natural leader; that much is for sure. Maybe I made a mistake in underestimating this little runt. And to think that he's only five."_ Kinari thought as she fell in line behind Kakashi. 

"Hey! Wait for me!" Kagera shouted as she finally snapped out of her love-struck pose and sprang into a run to catch up with her team. 

There it was, little Kakashi's chapter. I wanted to add a little more for his own background before I proceeded with the rest of the story. Believe you me; this is about when the story is really going to be taking off. I know that it is a complex timeline to follow with 2 separate timelines between each Naruto and Sasuke, but I will try as hard as I can to keep the reader aware of where the story is going at the time. Coming up next is something that I hope you have all been waiting for. Like, what did Naruto see when he arrived to where Kakashi was? Also, be advised that the next chapter is going to be pretty long, so I am going to divide it into 2 chapters to be released simultaneously. So please be patient. This one will take a couple extra days. Chapter 10 - Origins. 

\/p> 


	10. Chapter 10 Origins

-1Chapter 10- Origins. Sorry for the delay. This was a really difficult chapter to write.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

(Kakashi's point of view at the end of Chapter 8)

"_Shit! I don't know how much longer I can hold this guy off."_ Kakashi thought as he hugged his right side with his arm. His ribs on his right side hurt from the previous blow from the tree branch that was thrown by the large man standing in front of him now. His right arm was bleeding from a glancing blow that he had barely avoided in the ensuing conflict. He had also taken a glancing blow to the face which left a small trail of blood running from his cheek. He was barely able to stand in front of the large man that was wielding a large tree branch, ready to swing. Kakashi held tight to the kunai in his left hand, knowing full-well that he would not be able to defend against another blow from this giant of a man. His mouth hung open as he forced his breathes through a bleeding lip. _"Where are you dad?"_ Was the last thought that entered his mind before he heard that sound.

"**KAKASHI!"**

With that sound, came an overwhelmingly horrific feeling. _"What the hell! Are there more of them? What is this terrible… feeling?"_ Kakashi thought as he felt a sensation that could only be described as pure rage. His eyes opened wide with terror at this sensation that seemed to be getting closer. Despite this feeling, he held his kunai tight while he stood in a defensive stance, ready to try to dodge the impending attack.

"Huh?" Spoke the large man as he halted his swing with the branch in his hand. He turned his head toward his back, but once again focused his attention on the child before him. "It's too late for you kid." He spoke as he strengthened his grip on the branch in his hands that he held over his head. "You are coming with me." He spoke with a sinister grin on his face as he readied his downward swing.

Just before the man started his swing, that 'feeling' turned into a distant image in Kakashi's Byakugan. It started as a faint glow of red chakra, before in a moment; it turned into a dark red raging inferno of chakra! Whatever it was, it was moving fast in his direction. Very fast! In a second, that evil dark-red glow enveloped almost his entire field of view behind the man in front of him! It was like a raging fire of purely evil red chakra, though he still couldn't focus on the source! Through the man, he could see what appeared to be a giant monster of chakra! His eyes opened wide with terror as he lost grip on his kunai and fell to the ground!

"**KAKASHI!"** That terrible voice thundered again, only this time, it came from a much closer source! It was a terrible sound; like the sound of a man's screaming being overshadowed by the howl of a monstrous demon! Kakashi could feel the air around him suddenly become hot as if he were standing at the edge of a massive forest fire.

Seemingly unaware of what was going on behind him, the massive man began his downward swing before being stopped, as if something had grabbed the branch in his hands! "What the…" The man growled as his hands nearly lost grip of the branch from the force of his blow.

While he scrambled on his back to put distance between himself and the man, Kakashi saw what was going on. Out of nowhere, a giant dark-red hand grabbed hold of the branch in the man's hands, stopping it mid-swing! He tried to shield his eyes from the torrent of hot air that was blowing all around him while he continued to crawl on his back to get away from his opponent.

Almost effortlessly, the giant red hand crushed the branch in its grasp, reducing it to nothing more than a shower of splinters.

Finally, Kakashi was able to focus on the sight before him through the dense cloud of burning chakra. What he saw was most definitely a monster. It must have stood nearly ten feet tall. Surrounded by a cloud of chakra that radiated like the flames of a massive fire, was a being. It was not human at all, but it stood on two legs! It looked like a massive demonic fox in a humanoid form! Its eyes burned red with rage and its red fur seemed to stand entirely on end as its form seemed to make its size look greater than it's mass. The fur itself seemed to be wispy, like licks of flame! It had extremely broad shoulders and what appeared to be a mane of thick red fur. He could see large gaping jaws that hung open, revealing a mouth full of massive fangs as well as a huge black-clawed hand at its side. The other arm was reaching toward the man in front of him, but its arm seemed to disappear just past the elbow before ending where the clawed hand grasped the treebranch. It was as if this creature had separated its hand and sent it forward separately. It stood straight up on its rear legs which were shaped like those of a fox or a wolf. The entire figure seemed to center around a black silhouette of a human being standing in the core of the massive beast. Most of all were the nine red, flailing tails that swung from its hind end, each with a white tip.

Suddenly, he saw all nine tails swing forward, as nine tendrils shot forth from the great burning field of dark-red chakra! Each tendril wrapped tightly around the wrists, elbows, ankles, knees, and neck of his assailant, and lifting him off the ground!

"What the hell?" The man shouted as he was hoisted several feet off of the ground!

His shout of confusion quickly turned into a scream of pain as the tendrils seemed to erupt into flame!

"**You would dare to cause harm to HIM? TO MY OWN SON?!" **Thundered the voice from the gaping jaws of the massive beast! The tendrils turned the man around to face the terrible horror that held him in its grasp.

Kakashi froze in shock at that word. _"Son?"_ Kakashi could hardly grasp the meaning of the word coming from the jaws of this terrible monster.

The great flaming red eyes of the beast flared as the tendrils that had wrapped around the man's elbows pulled with a violent jerk. With a sickening pop and crackling sound, the man's elbows had been broken and shattered. The tendrils at the elbows dissipated as the man's limp elbows hung limp! The man screamed from the unimaginable pain!

"**Open your eyes fiend!" **Thundered that same wretched voice! **"Prepare to face the consequences of your poorly made choices!" **

The man forced open his eyes while he continued screaming. The pain was absolutely unbearable, but he forced himself to look into the eyes of the monster. **"I will tear you limb from limb from limb if that is what it takes to make me think that you have paid for your ways. You have yet to experience pain human." **

The beast looked down at the man's legs before returning its gaze to its victim. With a sickening smile, the beast's eyes flared up once again as the tendrils that had been wrapped around the man's knees jerked violently shattering the man's knees with that same disgusting popping and crackling sound. The man's screams only seemed to make the smile on the face of the demon grow wider. It was as if those screams were driving the demon to the point of ecstasy!

The scene only filled poor Kakashi with absolute fear at the scene that was occurring before him. He scrambled to put more distance between himself and this monster.

The monster then grabbed the man by its giant clawed hand that actually grew to a size large enough to wrap entirely around the man's torso. The monster pulled the man closer holding him right in front of itself with its gaze fixed directly upon its victim's closed eyes. **I said open your eyes fiend!" **The monster screamed with that same terrifying howl. The man slowly opened his eyes between gasps of breathe that seemed to grow more and more shallow as the monster's grip tightened. The demon opened its jaws wide and let out an absolutely deafening roar straight at the man's face. As the demon roared, it seemed almost like the wind from its bellow was actually burning the skin from the man's face and upper torso. By now, the man's clothing had been burned away completely by the fiery grip of the demon's hand. His skin seemed to sizzle and darken as the roar intensified! It looked as if the demon was cooking its prey like it was preparing a meal! Slowly, the man's skin grew completely dark as it was burned to a crisp before the demon let off its roar. The man's eyelids had been burned completely off, revealing his bare terrified eyeballs as if the demon had spared them the burning fate of the rest of his body. 

"_Father?"_ Kakashi thought in horror as he looked closely at the demon before his eyes. He tried to focus on the dark human form inside of the great beast. Once he was able to focus through the raging chakra surrounding it, he saw the figure of his father inside. _"Father?"_ His eyes filled with tears that were immediately blown away by the raging torrent of hot chakra that surrounded the area around him. Even the leaves on the trees around him were erupting in flames as the scene unfolded.

"**So I finally got you to keep your eyes open." **The great monster growled with that twisted smile, revealing it's dripping fangs. The monster reached for the man's head with its other clawed hand, and wrapped around, completely erasing the man's head from view. With a terrible motion, the hand twisted and ripped the man's head from his shoulders, bringing the man's muffled screams to an immediate halt.

"FATHER!" Kakashi screamed as the blood spurted forth from the decapitated body, covering Kakashi's face with its crimson spray.

The demon turned its attention toward Kakashi as its own face was sprayed with the blood of its victim.

"Father! Stop!" The little child screamed again.

The fire in the demon's eyes started to fade slightly as it stared at the child before it as it threw the lifeless body to the side.

"**Kakashi?"** Came a slightly different tone of that evil echoed voice of the demon. Suddenly, the look in the demon's eyes reduced to a strange look of worry, then to a look of sadness.

"**Kakashi… My… son."** Echoed the voice of the demon once more as it extended it open clawed hands toward Kakashi.

Kakashi struggled to his feet against the fading winds of burning chakra. "You are not my father." He muttered as he hugged his right side with his bleeding arm. A confused look of sorrow and anger spread across his face as he took up a defensive stance. He held his fingers straight as he formed a simple short blade of chakra in his left hand, and took hold of it.

"**My… son" **Came the voice of the demon once again as it started to walk toward Kakashi with its clawed hands held wide. Kakashi could see the figure inside holding his own arms outstretched.

Kakashi pulled his chakra blade tight as he readied himself to try and defend against or attack this horrific beast before him. Suddenly, everything in sight began to waver as his limbs grew numb. The blade in his hand dissipated as his hand fell to his side. Everything in his view started to become blurry as he felt his strength fade from his body. His eyes slowly closed as his body fell to the ground below. "Not… my… father" were his last words before his world faded to black and his body collapsed to the ground.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Kakashi slowly started to regain his consciousness. His head felt like he had been repeatedly slammed it into a tree. His ribs throbbed with pain and he hadn't even opened his eyes yet. He could hear the crackle of a fire nearby when finally, he stirred slightly with a quiet groan.

"Kakashi?" He heard the voice of his father speak with a gentle tone.

Kakashi muttered, "Father?" He was still barely conscious when he spoke the word. Suddenly, an image of that monster flashed through his mind as he snapped his eyes open and jumped back against a tree. He scrambled to reach for a kunai in a blind panic, but his pouch wasn't there. He looked in front of him to see Naruto on his knees. "What are you?" Kakashi demanded with a vicious scowl on his face.

Naruto lowered and shook his head, before looking up at his son with tear-filled eyes. He still had the massive waist-length yellow braids hanging from his head, as well as the tufts of yellow hair sticking up from the rest of his hairline. His face was otherwise unaltered aside from the small trail of blood running down from his lips. His eyes were filled with an unusual look of sadness and sincere regret. "Kakashi, there is a lot about me that you don't know." He finished speaking before his eyes fell to the ground once again.

"You mean like turning into a monster?" Kakashi replied as he continued to scowl at his father. Naruto gave no response. "Answer me!!" Kakashi demanded with a shout.

A few seconds later, Naruto answered his son's question. "No.. my son. I mean more like being a monster." Naruto lifted his head and looked directly into his son's angry gaze with his own tear-filled eyes.

Kakashi looked deeply into his father's deep-blue eyes, and knew that this was indeed his father in every sense of the word. "What do you mean?"

Naruto lifted himself to a single knee and sat back up on the nearby log. "Please sit down Kakashi." Kakashi obeyed and took a seat on a nearby tree stump next to the fire. "How badly are you hurt? I can tell that you took a little bit of a beating back there."

"I'll be fine. Just some bruising and a scratch or two." Kakashi answered with an irritated tone in his voice.

"I'm very proud of you son. You did extremely well against those guys." Naruto responded while he kept his eyes focused on the fire before him. The tears falling down his cheek betrayed his otherwise blank expression. It was as if he had a hundred things on his mind that he wanted to tell his son, but each single thought scared him too much to share. It had seemed that the time for him to tell his son about the demons in his own closet had finally come.

He grabbed hold of the ends of a couple of the long braids that hung from his head and worked the hairs between his fingertips as he looked up at his son. He could tell from his expression that Kakashi was waiting for Naruto to explain the situation.

Kakashi got up from his stump, walked over and sat next to his father on the log as he broke the uncomfortable silence. "It's ok dad. No matter what it is, you are my father. No matter what." Kakashi stared deeply into Naruto's deep-blue tear-filled eyes with the kind of look that only a loving son can give to his father.

Naruto forced a smile on his face before returning to his blank expression. He rolled up his left sleeve to reveal a small somewhat linear seal with a ring of Kanji around the center. Naruto bit the end of his thumb, and placed it on his arm, smearing the blood along the seal. He made a single handed seal, closed his eyes, and muttered the words, **"Summoning Jutsu: Blade of Purification". **Upon speaking these words, he placed his right hand on his arm and with a small puff of smoke; a small blade appeared in his hand. It was a simple blade with a short polished blade that was inscribed with a great many Kanji and seal markings. The handle was a simple gold chord that wrapped around the solid piece of steel that ran from the tip of the blade to the end of the handle.

Then he spoke in a very somber tone. "You see these braids Kakashi? They are sort of a remnant of something that I took into myself many years ago. When I call upon its powers too heavily, that power manifests itself physically in these braids. However unlike my eyes, or my whisker-scars, they don't disappear on their own."

"Uuhh… You are talking about the Kyuubi right? I already know about how it was sealed within you when you were a newborn baby." Kakashi quietly interrupted.

Naruto simply nodded as he wrapped the end of one of the braids around his left hand and pulled it tight, bringing the simple blade to the base. "But, there's more to it than what you know. More than most people know." Kakashi's eyes opened wide as the edge of the blade began to glow a faint white before Naruto began to cut the braid free from his head. Naruto pulled it free and bundled it up in his hand while what was left of the base of the braid shrunk back into the rest of his hair. He tossed the bundled up braid into the fire where a couple of seconds later, it flared up with red flames, nearly tripling in size and intensity for a few seconds. The flash made Kakashi jump back and shield his eyes momentarily from the heat. Naruto however, was completely unphazed as he just continued staring into the blazing fire as it dwindled.

As Naruto wrapped another braid in his left hand, he spoke once again with a somber tone. "Kakashi, it is time that I told you the entire truth. This is something that very few people know about, even among the Konoha elders." Naruto proceeded to cut the second braid and throw it into the fire with another great red flash.

With the flash, Kakashi noticed something. _"That chakra! That WAS him! That is the demon's chakra!"_

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

(Scene changes to the Myouboku Mountain cave, inside Gamabunta's study.)

It was now almost two and a half years since Naruto had left his team in the forest to train with the toads. We are now joining Gamabunta talking with the Toadscroll.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Shouted the Toadscroll! "I already had this argument with Jiraiya and I would have hoped that you would have had your mind in a better place! Do you even know what happened when he unleashed four tails?"

"Yes, of course I know. Jiraiya told me all about it." Gamabunta replied as he puffed on his pipe showing no concern as to the Toadscroll's warning.

"Well then why are you even considering this? You know what is contained inside of me!" The scroll shouted.

"Of course I know. I was there when Minato made the seal, and I helped him make that seal that is inside of you. Don't speak as if I don't know what is going on here." Gamabunta snapped back at the sacred scroll with a glare in his eyes. "I've also seen him control those four tails and channel its entirety into his swords. His control now is leagues beyond what it was when he was training under Jiraiya and with that Kage Bunshin training of his, he has amassed more than a couple-hundred years worth of training experience. Besides, we have run out of options. The longer we wait, the stronger Uchiha Madara grows. You know the kind of power that he commands with those blasted Sharingan eyes of his. Naruto is without a doubt, the destined child. If he is to stand a chance, then this needs to be done."

The Toadscroll, knowing that Gamabunta spoke only the hard truth, nodded slightly at those words. "Well that doesn't mean that I need to like it. I hope for all our sakes, that you are right."

Gamabunta solemnly replied. "So do I."

Later that day, Naruto joined Gamabunta near the peak of Myouboku Mountain. Gamabunta sat there on a massive ledge, silently puffing on his pipe and staring into the impending sunset.

Naruto reached the edge of the ledge as he leaned over, panting in an effort to catch his breathe. "Couldn't we do this somewhere else? Like someplace that didn't involve me having to climb this mountain? The jacket of his gi was wrapped around his waist as the sweat on his body glistened in the sunlight, revealing his lean and muscular figure. He bent over and rested his hands on his knees, holding up his weight and revealing markings on his hands and arms. They were summoning seals that had been tattooed into his skin. The one on the back of his left hand was the seal that kept his Uzumaki Demon Fangs hidden. His sweat-soaked long shaggy hair stuck to his face as he wiped it out of his eyes. "So what's the meaning of all this anyway sensei?"

Gamabunta motioned with his head to the ledge next to him. Naruto sat down on the ledge next to his imposing sensei. A couple minutes had passed since Naruto sat down next to Gamabunta when finally, Naruto broke the silence. "So, why are we here? I've seen many sunsets before. There has to be a real reason why you had me meet you here."

Gamabunta only puffed on his pipe, seemingly not even hearing his student's words.

"I said…" Naruto started again before being cut off.

"I heard you Naruto!" Gamabunta snapped, cutting his student's repeated question off. "It's finally time to tell you what I promised."

"You mean about my family history?" Naruto replied with inquisitive eyes.

Gamabunta answered with a simple nod.

"So why haven't I ever heard or read anything about them?" Naruto asked. His eyes resembled the look he had as a child, ready and willing to learn. Finally something that has evaded him his entire life was about to be revealed.

"That's because it doesn't exist anymore." Gamabunta replied as he packed his pipe again and set it ablaze. He looked at Naruto to read his response. Naruto's eyes quivered as he had no words to reply with. Gamabunta only saw a single tear well up and fall from his left eye as Naruto lowered his head and stared down the mountainside.

"It's as I'm sure you may have suspected." Started the toad-boss. "As far as we know, your mother was, and now you are the last descendants of the Uzumaki clan. The story of your clan is one that goes back a long ways; many generations before the founding of Konoha. It was shortly after the time of the Sage of Six Paths and the foundations of what we know as the modern shinobi world. It was also shortly after people became aware of the demon-world. Already eight demons had been summoned by a variety of clans throughout the chaotic world."

Gamabunta looked down to his student to check that he was listening. "I'm listening sensei." Naruto spoke quietly. "Please continue." His head still hung low while the fact that he was alone once again was driven into his mind by the confirmation that he had no family left in this world.

"Very well." Gamabunta replied. "This was around the time that three upstart clans decided to summon the ninth and most powerful demon for their own purposes. They had intended to harness the power of the legendary Nine-tailed Demon-fox Kyuubi in order to found their own country. The first of these clans were the descendants of the Uchiha clan."

"Uchiha?" Naruto looked up at his sensei at the mention of this word with a strange look in his eyes. "You mean like Sasuke's clan?"

"Yes Naruto." Gamabunta answered. "But these were the original Uchiha's that even predated the Sharingan. At this time, they were actually Hyuuga clan members. The man that conducted the summoning ritual had a special ability that allowed him to see patterns in chakra and to a certain extend, exert his own chakra to redirect its original motion. Second, was the Senju clan who at that time had the ability to suppress certain kinds of chakra. Knowing that what they were about to attempt was an unfathomable task, they had hoped that with their talents combined, they would be able to direct the enormous energies of the demon into a chosen vessel. The third and most important member was from the original Uzumaki clan. This clan exhibited an extremely resilient and bountiful amount of chakra that was natural to their clan. Very much like your own chakra."

"You mean like a Kekki-Genkai?" Interrupted Naruto.

"Not so much a Kekki-Genkai as much as a hereditary trait that had been passed down through its lineage. Anyway, your ancestor was chosen to be the first Jinchuuriki for the Kyuubi because of this trait. It was believed that with their unique chakra, they would be able to contain the massive power of the Kyuubi. Unfortunately, their names have been lost to the ages so we have no way of knowing exactly who they were or even exactly when this happened. But we do know how it happened."

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

(Scene changes to the time of the summoning of the Kyuubi)

Laid out on the altar with his bare chest exposed, was the unnamed Uzumaki. The altar was built of stone and sat on a site near the edge a small lake near the center of what would become the Whirlpool Country. Covering his entire chest and most of his body and face, were drawn a great series of seals. At the center of the seal on his chest was drawn a spiral pattern. Surrounding that spiral, were a series of ancient Kanji symbols representing Earth, Fire, Water, Wind, Lightning, Light, Dark, Death, and Life. Around these Kanji, were a series of lines and symbols whose meaning has long since been forgotten. These symbols continued to wrap all around his body including his appendages and his head.

The altar was a simple stone slab that sat on top of two stones, one under each end. At one end of the slab, was a vertical stone that had a series of seals and Kanji at its center. Around the altar, was yet another series of complex seals. These seals also made references to the nine elements. Each of these nine elements represented a portion of the power that comprised the strength of the Kyuubi. The seals were drawn in a mixture of human and fox blood and mixed with a special mixture of ink.

Once the site preparations were completed, the three men proceeded with the summoning. More members of their clans were standing at a distance around the site to witness the event.

The Hyuuga placed one hand on the seal on the vertical stone, and the other on the Uzumaki man's chest, centered on the spiral seal.

The Senju man placed his hands over the Hyuuga's hands as they began the summoning. With one last confirmation that the Uzumaki man was ready, the Hyuuga began to speak a long series of cryptic chants. After the sequence of chants, a red glow began to emanate from the seal markings on the vertical stone as well as the seal markings that had been laid out around the altar. As the glow on the vertical stone became more intense, the Hyuuga looked as if he was in pain; almost as if the stone was becoming increasingly hot to the touch. The look was shared by the Senju man as well as both men gritted their teeth.

Suddenly, a burst of energy erupted from the stone and flowed through the Hyuuga that was channeling the energies. The glow grew in intensity enveloping the entire party in a red haze as the energies that were being channeled grew in potency. The Senju man stepped up his efforts as he channeled more suppressive chakra into his hands in an effort to keep the energies in check. As the chakra worked its way though the Hyuuga man and toward the Uzumaki, the seal markings on the Uzumaki man began to glow red and move throughout the man's body.

The only nonmoving signs were the series of nine elemental seal markings that glowed brighter than the rest of the markings. As the haze grew thicker, the bystanders could see images of a roaring fox's head in the dark red mist of demonic chakra. Both the Senju and the Hyuuga tried harder to control the massive waves of chakra that came from the vertical stone. The Hyuuga directed the chakra into the Uzumaki man as the spiral seal began to swirl on the man's chest.

After an extended battle of wills came to an end, a final blast wave of chakra exploded from the vertical stone, knocking all bystanders to the ground. It seemed that the connection with the stone kept the Hyuuga and Senju man standing as if they were stuck in their positions. With a final push, the Hyuuga with the Senju's help forced the remaining chakra into the Uzumaki's chest. The Uzumaki man gritted his teeth as the pain was quite evident by the expression on his face. However, he did not cry out. He had been preparing for this moment for quite some time and was ready to bare the brunt of the expected pain to follow.

Finally, as the glow from the stone subsided, the Hyuuga and Senju men collapsed to the ground. The seal markings on the ground began to migrate toward the Uzumaki man on the slab and merge into the spinning spiral seal on his chest. The Uzumaki still made no sound as he gritted his teeth at the burning chakra that was infecting his body. Finally, all the remaining seal and ancient Kanji markings were consumed by the spiraling seal on the man's chest until only the spiral and nine elemental markings remained. With a rather unimpressive display, the spiral seal slowed its spinning motion as the nine elemental markings set in place around it. As the markings came to a halt, the Uzumaki man relaxed and seemingly passed out.

The three men were taken to a makeshift medical facility in which they all came back to consciousness a couple of days later. When the Hyuuga man came to, it was noticed that his eyes had changed as a result of the demonic channeling process. Instead of the blank white eyes of the Hyuuga clan, there was a red eye with a black pupil. It was surrounded by three back tomoe markings resembling the Sharingan of modern day. Ostracized by his clan for this demonic taint on the pride of their clan, the former Hyuuga member started his own clan under the name of Uchiha.

Another side affect was the newfound ability to totally suppress demonic chakra by the Senju man. It was figured that their "transformations" were a result of their direct contact with the Kyuubi summoning.

Together, the now Uchiha, Senju, and Uzumaki men founded their own country that was later to be known as the Whirlpool Country.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

(Back to Gamabunta and Naruto on the ledge as the sunset neared its finale)

"But what happened to the Uzumaki man? The Jinchuuriki." Naruto asked.

"Well.. That's a bit more complicated." Gamabunta replied as he puffed on his pipe. "Whereas the changes to the Senju man and the Hyuuga turned Uchiha were evident, what happened to the Uzumaki vessel was a bit different. The extent of his holding the Kyuubi aren't exactly known for sure, but there is a lot of speculation about the extent of the impact to his body and bloodline. What is known about him is that he was able to control the Kyuubi's chakra completely, almost as if it were his own. It is suspected that as a result of his very resilient and extremely high chakra capacity, that his own chakra adapted to the sudden change as the Kyuubi was channeled into his system. You see, the way that the Kyuubi was introduced and sealed within him, was extremely different from the way that they Kyuubi was sealed within yourself as an infant."

"How so?" Asked Naruto with an inquisitive look on his face.

"Well, Your father and I.." Gamabunta started before being cut off.

"My father?" Naruto interrupted with an expression of shock in his eyes. "You knew my father?

"Of course I did! We worked together to create the Reaper Seal that is what allowed him to seal the Kyuubi within you in the first place." Gamabunta replied with a somewhat surprised look on his face. "I was at his side as he fought and sealed the Kyuubi within you. Didn't Jiraiya tell you?"

"You mean to tell me…" Naruto tried to gather his thoughts, but this new information left him in a state of confusion.

"Of course." Gamabunta answered as he saw the confused look on Naruto's face. "Your father was the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato. Your mother was Uzumaki Kushina. I can't believe that you didn't already know this."

Naruto was left completely speechless for a moment. Finally, he pulled himself together enough to make words again. "My father was a legend, and I never got the chance to know him. Never even knew who he was. Why wouldn't they tell me sensei?"

Gamabunta sighed and shook his head. "I can't say Naruto. Your father wanted you to be seen as a hero for involuntarily taking into yourself something like the Kyuubi for the good of Konoha. I can't say that I agree with their choice, but the elder's of Konoha thought it was a good idea to have your family kept a secret. Perhaps they thought it best that it be kept a secret to protect your identity as a Jinchuuriki. I have heard word that they considered raising you as a living weapon similar to the way your friend Gaara was raised, but Sarutobi wouldn't allow that."

"A living weapon?" Naruto responded solemnly. "How could they have even thought of such a thing?" Naruto balled up his fist in anger as he contemplated a life as a machine of the elders like Gaara was raised to become. "They have no idea what it's like… to be a Jinchuuriki like we are. When I'm Hokage…"

"Put your ambitions and hostilities aside Naruto." Gamabunta interrupted as Naruto looked up at him with a face filled with aggression. "I know that you are just now finding out some details about your life that up until now, have been kept secret, but you need to focus for the time being. For your own sake, you need to understand a few things about what is going to happen in the next few days if you so choose. There was a cost to becoming the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi that your ancestor's were not aware of. First of all, every member of the first vessel's direct bloodline was cursed to bare only one child in their lifetime. For generations afterward, every new vessel of the Kyuubi was a direct member of the first Uzumaki vessel's bloodline for fear that any other vessel would not be able to handle the raw power of the Kyuubi. You are a direct member of his bloodline."

Naruto sat silently absorbing the words of the great Toad-boss. Gamabunta could see that he was following his words by Naruto's nods. "From the time that I learned about the sealing, I've wondered about why I was chosen. Now I know….It was my destiny. It seems that Neji was right after-all."

"Neji? What Neji?" Gamabunta asked with a raised eye. "You mean the Hyuuga boy?"

"Ah, never mind sensei. Please continue." Naruto replied as he replayed Neji's words about fate and destiny at the Chuunin exams in his mind.

"Anyways, for several generations, the trio of clans held power in the Whirlpool country. Eventually, a matter of internal strife struck the three clans and the Uchiha were banished from the Whirlpool country. The Senju clan was soon to follow. For a few years, the Uzumaki had complete control over the Whirlpool Country. That was, until Uchiha Madara arrived. Somehow, his Sharingan had evolved to the point that he was able to control and suppress the Kyuubi almost completely. Unable to utilize their greatest weapon in their Jinchuuriki, the Uzumaki clan fell quickly before Madara's army. He released the Kyuubi and virtually wiped the Whirlpool Country from the face of the map. Not long afterward, he allied himself with the Senju clan and helped to found Konoha and the Fire Country. Almost inevitably, this alliance fell apart and conflict arose between Madara and the First Hokage. He tried to use the Kyuubi as a weapon, but the power of the Senju allowed the First Hokage to suppress the Kyuubi rendering it useless. Madara was thought destroyed in the conflict, but we know now that he survived somehow."

Naruto nodded in response and asked, "But what about the appearance of the Kyuubi during my father's time as Hokage? And if Madara wiped out the Whirlpool Country, what happened to my mother?"

"It is suspected that your grandmother escaped with your mother at the time of the massacre. Your grandfather was killed in the massacre. He was the last Kyuubi Jinchuuriki before you. Your mother was next in line to become the next Jinchuuriki but Madara's attack came before she was of age to receive the Kyuubi. To protect the bloodline, your grandmother sought refuge in Konoha under an assumed identity. In time, your mother and father met and fell in love. Even though the Third Hokage vehemently disagreed with his decision, Minato chose to give you the name of your ancestor's, Uzumaki. He said that it was wrong that the legacy of your ancestors fade out completely."

"What about the Kyuubi attack when I was born?" Naruto asked impatiently.

Gamabunta was surprised how Naruto wasn't having a hard time coping with the news that the Fourth Hokage had been his father. He had expected the blond to get all fired up and make a big scene, ask a bunch of questions and such. Instead, he was rather complacent and very focused. "Tell me something Naruto, why aren't you more upset about your family? I just told you that half of your entire bloodline was nearly wiped out and you just learned who your parents were. Why aren't you.."

"I don't have that kind of time to worry about all that stuff anymore sensei." Naruto interrupted Gamabunta with a sharp but silent tone. "History is just that, history."

"Don't be so naïve Naruto." Gamabunta answered with a sharp tone of his own.

"Call it what you will." Naruto responded with that same sharp tone again. "Tell me what I need to know so I can make sure that this doesn't happen again. "

No longer was Gamabunta giving instruction to the happy and eager-to-learn child that he once knew. That child was gone, replaced by a man with a mission. Gamabunta hesitated to answer as he stared into Naruto's demanding blue eyes. He thought, _"Poor kid. Both of his sensei's dead now; one right in front of him. He doesn't stand a chance of becoming the kind of person that he could have been anymore." _

"Well I've already met this Madara so I already know that he's alive. Was he behind the Kyuubi attack against Konoha when I was a baby?"

"We think so." Gamabunta finally replied with a sigh. "Jiraiya had thought that for some time."

"Then how can I kill him?" Naruto asked as he lowered his head. Gamabunta could see Naruto's jaw clench tight.

Gamabunta hesitated to respond after seeing the anger in Naruto's face. After a puff on his pipe and a sigh, he started his response before being cut off. "Naruto.."

"Just tell me sensei." Naruto could tell from his tone that Gamabunta was only gonna try to change his mind in some way or calm him down. "You and I both know that it's the only way that I can make sure this won't happen anymore so please just get to the point. What am I gonna have to do to kill Uchiha Madara?"

Gamabunta sighed and lit his pipe with another fresh packing. He recalled the discussion that he had with the Toadscroll and wondered if what he had in mind for Naruto was actually their only course of action. Finally, he replied. "Naruto, I want you to focus on your training to control the Kyuubi's chakra for the next few days. I still have a lot of preparations and research to do yet. I have an idea that I think will help give you an edge against someone like Madara."

Naruto simply nodded, stood up, and looked over the moonlit panoramic view from the peak of the mountain. By now, the sun had fallen completely below the horizon as Naruto's stretched his chiseled body in the pale-blue light of the moon. He turned his head slightly to his side toward Gamabunta who was sitting behind him. "Will five days be enough sensei?" Gamabunta nodded with a puff on his pipe. "Then I will see you in five days sensei." He turned back toward the mountain lying before him and jumped off the ledge into the darkness of the moonlit mountain forest.

Gamabunta puffed on his pipe again and the amber glow lit up his eyes, revealing a look of sincere worry. "I hope for all of our sakes, that I am right on this one."

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X **

Author's Notes: First of all, I need to apologize for seemingly rushing certain aspects of this chapter. I had a lot of difficulty trying to make the origin and summoning portion of this chapter fit with the manga's own history. Initially, I had a much more detailed version I mind, but there were too many conflicts that arose to include. I'm too much of a stickler to fitting the existing manga to just say "It's my story now, so I'll do whatever I want." Anyway, the next chapter shouldn't take so long to release. So, please stay tuned for Chapter11. Title is still pending.


	11. Chapter 11 Ritual

-1**Chapter 11 - Ritual. Finally, the chapter that I've been looking forward to for a long time. It was written with the help of a good friend SMFox1987 and kudos go out to him as well for this chapter. Well, I won't ruin it anymore with meaningless blabbering, so let's get to it then shall we. Chapter 11 - Ritual. **

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

Gamabunta had been locked in his "office" for the last four days straight. He had been working with Pa Toad and the Toadscroll tirelessly trying to devise an effective and safe way to accomplish their goal. The fact that they were working with the most powerful entity in the known world might make their goals seemingly impossible already. However, this difficulty was compounded by the fact that they were working with a nearly unknown ancient dialect as their best guide. The three had figured that the basics for the original summoning and sealing ritual would be their best place to start. The Reaper Seal that had been prepared for sealing the Kyuubi in Naruto was a last resort choice made in haste, because of the situation of the Kyuubi attacking the Fire Country and Konoha at the time. Not to mention the obvious drawback of the one performing the jutsu would have to forfeit their own life as a sacrifice to the Shinigami.

"That's it. This is impossible." The Toadscroll exclaimed as he threw up his arms. "We've been at this for four days now and the success of this ritual is just too risky. It places almost all of the chances of success solely on Naruto's ability to control the Kyuubi."

Gamabunta sighed and responded. "Yes I know." Gamabunta rubbed his tired eyes before he picked up his pipe and lit a fresh pack of tobacco.

"Do you really think this kid can handle this kind of strain Gamabunta?" Pa frog asked with frustration showing clearly in his eyes. "Are you absolutely sure that this is our only option?"

Gamabunta puffed on his pipe and eventually replied. "Honestly, I don't know if he can handle it. His control over the Kyuubi chakra has grown exponentially since he arrived here, but this is something entirely different. As far as if this is our only option is concerned, then yes. If Naruto faces Uchiha Madara as is, then he is going to be killed before the fight even begins. Madara will suppress the Kyuubi's chakra and Naruto wouldn't stand a chance without it. If he hopes to stand a chance against Madara, then he will need the Kyuubi's power."

"This is madness Gamabunta-sama!" Shouted the Toadscroll. "First of all, we don't have any clue as to the true extent of Madara's ability. Second of all, what you are talking about doing is absolutely unprecedented with any Bijou; much less the Kyuubi!"

"I know I know!" Snapped Gamabunta in frustration.

"Does he even know what you are planning?" Pa frog asked quietly with a look of concern.

Gamabunta sighed and rubbed his tired eyes again. "Not yet. He doesn't have any idea."

"How do you even know that he is going to go for this?" Pa frog asked. "Do you even think that he understands the consequences?"

"You don't know Naruto like I do. He will stop at nothing to save his village and friends from that monster Madara." Gamabunta quietly answered as he thought back to Naruto's tireless training and unyielding drive to improve. "No matter what we do, he will go after Madara and we need to do everything that we can do ensure his success."

"But what good is all that if he doesn't even survive the ritual?" The Toadscroll shouted. "Not only could it kill him, but it could release the entirety of Kyuubi's power altogether. We would be at the demon's mercy and Madara would have the Kyuubi once again under his command." The Toadscroll continued as Gamabunta puffed on his pipe as he stared at their notes and ancient records. "And need I remind you that even IF this succeeds, the Kyuubi will become an ever present voice in Naruto's mind? He will have to spend the remaining years of his already tragic life with the voice of that demon whispering in his mind! Do you have any…?"

"I KNOW THAT!" Gamabunta lashed out in anger. "Don't speak to me like I don't understand the ramifications of what we are doing here. Yes, I know that if we fail the Kyuubi will be released once again! Yes, I know that if we fail, then we have just made Madara even stronger! Yes, I know that this relies almost entirely on Naruto's ability! Yes, I know that if this succeeds, Naruto will never be the same! I also understand that the blood of the Senju is not at our disposal to a necessary extent. Yamato doesn't have the power to suppress the Kyuubi to the degree that we are talking. I also understand that our best chance against Madara and Akatsuki is raw power. I also know that this will scar Naruto for life and I can only pray that he will be able to forgive me." A single tear began to form under one of Gamabunta's eye before he rubbed his eyes again and covered it with a look of fatigue.

For once, the Toadscroll sat silent, unable to form words to answer Gamabunta's reply.

Finally, Pa frog interjected. "If what you tell me about this kid is true, then I have no doubts that Naruto will undertake this burden willingly. I just hope that he will be able to accept the consequences of merging with the Kyuubi."

"Me too." Gamabunta replied with a somber tone. "Up until now, the Reaper seal has relied on the dark chakra of the Kyuubi to maintain the seal. That dark chakra is what keeps the light chakra contained within Naruto. Up until the first time he released the Kyuubi's chakra, the dark and light chakra have kept themselves in check maintaining the seal. The dark chakra fueled the seal, but ever since that day, the dark chakra has begun to seep ever so slowly into his system, weakening the seal altogether. In either case, if we don't do something now, eventually the dark chakra will saturate his system and the seal will fail altogether and the full power of the Kyuubi will be released and I have no doubt that Naruto would be killed by it."

That Toadscroll looked over the notes and records and suddenly looked as if he had a great thought. "I think I have an idea that just might work."

The trio worked tirelessly through the night trying to devise a ritual and seal for fusing both halves of the Kyuubi's chakra with Naruto. The hope was that if Naruto were able to completely merge with the Kyuubi and maintain control, then hopefully, he would be able to fight Madara's control over the Kyuubi's chakra with the power of his own indomitable will.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Early the next day, Naruto returned from his chakra training. His clothes were ragged and torn from his relentless training regiment. Gamabunta met him at the entrance to the cave that had become his home for the last couple of years and told Naruto about what he had been working on. Not surprisingly, Naruto agreed to the proposal with no hesitation. Deep inside, Gamabunta had hoped that Naruto would turn down the idea so that he wouldn't have to bare the burden of performing such a ritual on his young apprentice. Naruto's determination to protect and save those that he held precious was absolutely unparalleled as he knowingly was about to undertake something that would leave him with a permanent reminder of the burden he had carried his entire life; that was, if he even survived. He knew that the fate of the world rested on his shoulders and he wasn't about to let the world down.

He returned to his quarters for some much needed rest. Despite the fact that he had been training constantly for five entire days, he was unable to rest comfortably. Thoughts of what he was about to undergo permeated his mind as he tried to shut out those ideas. The idea of becoming one with that terrible monster was enough to drive him nearly to tears. His will however, had become so strong that his own emotions were overridden by his desire to protect his friends and comrades. After several hours of ineffective rest, he rose to find a note attached to his door telling him to meet Gamabunta at an area several miles from the cave. He took in a deep breathe and took a shower before he set out for the site.

While he stood under the beating waters of the shower, he thought about things like whether or not a shower would ever be the same. Would he be able to feel the beads of water beat against his skin like this ever again? Would they carry with them the same soothing sensation that they carry now as the hot water streamed down his back? He held his eyes shut tight as he wondered if the world would appear that same as it did now. Would the moonlit night sky glow with that wondrous blue luminescence as it does now? Would the scent of a freshly plucked flower still smell so beautiful? Would the sound and scent of a mountain morning, still create such a sense of serenity and peace as it fluttered by on the crisp, gentle breeze? Would his own smile still be his own, knowing that it was not only he, but the demon's smile as well? The thoughts running through his mind were enough for him to doubt whether or not he was making the right decision to undergo this ritual. Those thoughts however, were quickly shut out. He wouldn't, he couldn't allow such thoughts to enter his mind.

As the water began to run cold, he exited the shower and dried himself off and put on a fresh set of clean clothes. They were the same plain black pants and jacket that he had been wearing for the last couple years. He slipped on a clean pair of sandals and laced them to just above his ankles before he fastened the necklace that he had gotten from Lady Tsunade a couple of years prior. He picked up his Konoha forehead protector and gave a last thought as to why he was about to do what he was about to do. He closed his eyes once again as images of those that had fallen before him and those that stood with him ran through his mind. They were the reason he would lay his own life on the line. They were the ones that he would give his own life to protect and honor. With a last glimpse at the symbol of the Leaf Village, he turned and headed through his door.

The forehead protector glimmered in the light of a candle as the fuse burned down to its base and the flame extinguished. The room fell into darkness with the death of that flame.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Gamabunta stood beside Naruto in his newly changed form. He stood at an average height and build, but this did little to demean his commanding presence. The old toad's age seemed to be on the border of middle age, neither young nor old. The striking yellow crystalline orbs of his eyes pierced through Naruto, making him wonder whether or not he should kneel down before this being before him and lower his head, unworthy of standing in his presence. The boss toad retained the scar that ran though his left eye which in conjunction with his facial features that had yet to wrinkle gave the appearance of a battle-hardened veteran. Pure white strands of hair covered his entire head as well. His hair flowed down his back, stretching down the length of his back to his waist where it hung heavily, wrapped in a slightly braided pony-tail at the end. The hair matched the short, white goatee on his chin as well. His clothing was like that of the traditional samurai of old with a black underlining Hakama and wrapping, covered in a long white, sleeveless overcoat that dangled down to his ankles where it ended in a slightly tattered and frayed end as if it had been worn by battle. Rather than diminish the appearance, it compounded the startling presence of power and majesty that the old toad already demanded. But it didn't end there. Intricate golden patterns lined the black thread of the Hakama, wrapping protectively up from the wrists of the sleeves and spiraling around all the way up to the shoulders of the overcoat. On the back of the white overcoat, the pattern continued to wrap and twist until it formed, in large print, the Kanji for 'oil' upon his back; a symbol that no frog of the mountain went without.

Seeing Naruto's look of awe, Gamabunta could not help but smirk. Few were those that had been so privileged to see him in this dressed manner. But this was neither the time nor place for such childlike admiration so he decisively smacked the 'awe' out of his pupil's face. "Oi gaki, quit staring and let's get this done. We have a great deal of work to do yet and we cannot afford to make any mistakes." His voice was every bit as imposing and impressive as his stature, losing nothing to his normally massive form.

Naruto understood immediately and nodded in compliance. This was obviously very serious as not only was his own life at risk, but if something goes wrong... _"No, I can't think like that!" _The young blonde sighed as he looked at the densely forested area in front of them. They were still on Myouboku Mountain, but they were a great distance away from anything that could even be considered civilization. His neck length hair flipped around his taught facial features as he twisted his head back and forth, pondering just how to quickly be done with the clearcutting. He smiled as he put his hands together in his trademarked hand seal and with a shout of **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu"** four clones came into existence with a puff of smoke at his sides. All of the clones nodded at each other as they headed to their designated positions. Each clone took up a spot forming a perfect square around Naruto, a good fifty feet away from Naruto who stood at the core with all manner of shrubs and trees between them.

Naruto suddenly flipped his hand through a series of hand seals before placing both hands on the ground. With a cry he shouted, **"Doton: Kiretsu Shuuha!" **A small seismic wave radiated outward in all directions to just past the clones' positions. Once the trembling ceased, he looked around to make sure that the jutsu had done its job. Looking at his feet, he could already feel the drastically loosened soil that his earth jutsu had just created. It was designed to create a network of small underground tunnels around the user; just enough to loosen the soil in the surrounding area around the trees and plant life. As Naruto had discovered, this technique had several other applications when used in conjunction with other elemental techniques.

Assured that his technique had done its job, he nodded once again to all the clones surrounding him. On cue, each clone began to form their own seals, each set of hands moving in perfect synchronicity with each other. Each one suddenly stopped and stomped their foot on the ground beneath them, knocking the loosened dirt free to reveal the network of tunnels that had been created by Naruto. Placing their hands at their corresponding tunnel openings, each clone shouted, **"Fuuton: RezaKirite!" **A spiral of wind surrounded each clone's hands before each clone pushed a large surge of chakra into their techniques, bringing each jutsu to its maximum potency before releasing the jutsu and forcing a wave of slicing winds through the root systems of the surrounding trees, reducing the roots to shreds. Surely enough, nearly every tree in the area creaked and groaned as their root systems were hacked away by the raging slicing winds traveling through the underground network of tunnels.

Gamabunta smiled when he realized just what his young pupil was up to. He was proving himself to be more and more strategic and efficient in the use of his abilities. Not only this, but he was showing a growing proficiency for finding new and innovative ways to manipulate and utilize jutsus and combination jutsus. Gamabunta disappeared from his spot and reappeared a short distance away; well out of the range of the blonde's next move.

"**Fuuton: Teikiatsu!"** Each clone and shouted in unison after forming the appropriate hand seals and throwing their outstretched arms toward their fellow clones. Rather than an immediate cyclone appearing in front of each of them, they began to twist and manipulate the wind together in front of all four clones while Naruto stood at the center. The winds began to pick up speed as each clone pumped more chakra into the technique, each maintaining their own corner of the newly formed massive tornado that centered on Naruto. As the winds picked up in speed, the many trees in he the surrounding area began to pull free from the ground that had previously held them in position. As the raging torrent of wind picked up further, Naruto concentrated on creating a countering spiral of winds around him, helping further to rip the trees loose from their earthen bonds as well as keeping himself free from the affects of the vortex that surrounded him. Raising both arms, he, along with each of the clones, began to raise the cyclone of wind and debris farther and farther off of the ground.

Each clone began to slowly change the positioning of their arms, warping the vortex of air slightly as each of them started to walk slowly toward Naruto at the eye of the cyclone. As they came closer and closer to Naruto, the radius of the cyclone tightened as the winds compressed and increased in speed monumentally, making the cyclone far more difficult to maintain. However, the increased speed caused the debris to pull higher and higher into the vortex. What had previously been proudly standing trees, were now reduced to shredded clouds of chips and shreds as they circled the cyclone. Turning his hands, Naruto and his clones began to angle the vortex off to the side. As a result, the debris that had been held in suspension began to spiral straight out of the top of the cyclone and scatter throughout the surrounding landscape in the distance. Once the cyclone was cleared of debris, Naruto and the clones released the jutsu and the raging winds came to a slow halt. All four of the clones dispersed in a puff of gray smoke upon which, Naruto smiled happily, satisfied with his work.

No longer was he standing in a relatively densely forested area, but an open clearing, freshly devoid of plant life and covered with a soft layer of topsoil. The force of the trees being uprooted combined with the heavy winds had all but collapsed the many tunnels below, leaving only a depression filled with soft and fluffy soil.

"Impressive display." Arose a booming voice from behind Naruto, nearly making the spiky-haired blonde almost jump out of his sandals. He was not use to such praise from his mentor. As he turned around, he was greeted by a... grinning Gamabunta who was walking into the newly created clearing. The boy grinned at the compliment but before he could give any semblance of a reply, Gamabunta continued. "We still have much work to do. This soil should make things much easier for the over-all seal array. It will take a few hours to complete so I suggest that you remove your jacket and we can get started with the seal markings on your back at least. I trust that you remembered to bring the materials that I told you about."

Naruto sighed at this. Even with all his extensive training, patience was still not, nor would it ever be his strong suit. Nonetheless, he quickly nodded and removed the mixing bowl, three large vials of ink, a stirring rod, and a knife from his backpack and handed them to his sensei.

He took the lid off of one of the vials and one by one, he poured the ink into the large bowl. Once finished, he took the knife in hand and sliced a gash across his left palm. Tightening his grip, he forced the blood to flow from his hand and drop into the bowl. After a short while, the wound started to heal already and he was forced to cut the wound open again. The pain was even worse with each successive cut as the scar tissue was increasingly sensitive as it healed. He repeated the process until the bowl was filled by the mixture of his blood and ink.

Taking the stirring rod in hand, Gamabunta stirred the mixture until the blood and ink turned into a viscous paste. Reaching into his pack, Naruto retrieved a small brush and handed it to the toad boss. His tasks completed for the time being, he sat himself down in the center of the clearing in a cross-legged position. He put himself into a meditative state and waited patiently as he garnered the strength of will and courage needed for the coming struggle.

Gamabunta smiled at the young man sitting before him before he began the arduous process of inscribing the seal markings on his young pupil's back. He dipped the brush into the bowl of viscous liquid as he began to work on the blonde's back. Even in his meditative state, the cool sensation of the brush sent a shiver up and down Naruto's spine. He could even taste the coppery smell of the concoction and it made him shiver even more.

The old toad boss swirled the brush in an intricate pattern on his student's back, forcing a spiral patter at the center of the spinal cord. The spiral came to a halt after circling around three times and coming back into contact with the spinal column at the top of the spiral. Afterward, it swirled up along the spine to the boy's neck before branching off in nine different directions, each branch resembling a single tail of the Nine-tailed Kyuubi. The branches wrapped around the base of his neck and over his shoulders as if the tails were wrapping around his neck to strangle the life from him. After the tails were complete, Gamabunta brought the brush back to the lower edge of the spiral at the middle of his back where he formed another line that swirled down his spinal column. This swirling line however weaved back and forth around each vertebra in his lower back. Just above the base of his spine, the line spiraled to form the ancient Kanji for Nine.

Once again, the brush returned to the spiral at the center of Naruto's back. Gamabunta began to inscribe lines of Kanji branching directly outward from the spiral, roughly half of an inch away from actually connecting to the outer edges of the spiral. Eight lines of Kanji were formed in all, each one comprised of a line of kanji-inscribed words followed by the Kanji for the numbers one through eight. They were written with the same style as the nine. The words and numbers themselves were all in an ancient dialect, one that not even Gamabunta fully understood without extensive research. The numbered Kanji lines circled around the central spiral, with four on each side of his back. The nine was already written and extended straight downward along his spine.

Taking one last look to ensure accuracy on his part, Gamabunta began to inscribe one last line on the blonde's back. It was written in large Kanji across Naruto's back just above the base of his spine and below the nine. On the left side of the spine, the Kanji for Yin was written with the Yang on the right. The corresponding white and black halves of the Yin/Yang symbol were separated and centered on his spine. This represented the two halves of the Kyuubi's chakra as currently being separate. Gamabunta stepped back and inspected his work one last time. Satisfied with his work thus far, he began the next step.

He turned his head to look around before traveling to the edge of the clearing and finding a long and thin, but sturdy and straight stick, and a branch with various small twigs and leaves still attached. Walking back to his subordinate, he began by brushing over the area to be worked on to remove any evidence of his footsteps by using the branch as a rake to smooth the area. Once the area was 'cleaned up', he continued to draw out the seal array with the long stick in the very earth that surrounded the blonde. The first symbol was a large five-pointed star that circled the boy. At the tip of each point, an ancient Kanji for Fire was written. Around the first star was drawn another five-pointed star that was just large enough to envelope the smaller star and Kanji. At the tip of each of these stars, the ancient Kanji for Wind was drawn. Around this second star, was drawn another larger star, once again large enough to surround the previous star and the corresponding Kanji. This process continued until there were nine stars total. Each star growing in size and each star with a specific element; those being Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Water, Light, Dark, Life, and Death. Also, each star was turned slightly from the rotation of the previous star, giving the impression that as the stars grew smaller; they rotated in a clockwise motion.

Once again, Gamabunta backed away from the massive array of stars to inspect his work. He was now standing nearly thirty feet from the blonde at the center. After approving his work, he stood at the point of the star directly in front of Naruto. After brushing the area in front of him, he grabbed hold of the stick again and drew one last line from the tip of the star directly in front of Naruto, and at the end of the star, wrote the ancient Kanji for 'fusion'. This inscription was drawn deeper into the earth as when he was finished with it, he poured out the remaining blood and ink mixture of the bowl into the Fusion Kanji.

Finally done with what seemed like hours upon hours of inscription and careful etchings, he looked at his student and friend one last time. He felt that for the first time, he could honestly call his young pupil that, his friend. Once his moment of sentiment passed, he shouted, "Oi, Gaki!"

Naruto's eyes opened slowly as he replied. "Is it time?" He had a tremble to his voice that he couldn't conceal.

"Yes." Answered the wizened old toad. Confident as he was in his student's abilities, this whole ordeal still worried him greatly. Thoughts of the possible consequences of failure flashed through his mind before he shut out those thoughts, hoping that his student had not noticed any look of fear in his eyes.

"I guess I'll see you later... Maybe we can finally have that drink when I'm done showing this bastard fox who's the boss huh?" The blonde grinned at his comment; a grin that the toad boss couldn't help but to return.

"_The damn gaki is too infectious for his own good." _The old toad thought before letting his face relax back to his usual stern look. "I'll hold you to that… you're buying."

"Damn cheapskate. You and Ero-sennin are just alike." Naruto retorted, tired of always being the one stuck with the bill for his so-called teachers. Nonetheless, he enjoyed the opportunity for a last laugh. His laugh and smile were forced however as the seriousness of the situation never left his thoughts. He had a feeling that his teacher knew this and only obliged his smile out of courtesy.

Gamabunta's right eye twitched comically at the remark, the closest thing to a humorous reaction one might ever see in Gamabunta's face. As the gravity of the situation returned, he asked one last time. "Are you sure that you are ready for this Naruto?" Upon receiving a confident nod from his pupil, Gamabunta began to fly through a very long and complex series of hand seals, almost none of which were familiar to Naruto. Despite his speed, it took nearly a full minute to complete the complex series of hand seals before he sliced open his own palm, releasing a flow of blood, and placed it over the Fusion Kanji and immediately pouring as much chakra as he could muster in this form into the blood-filled symbol.

The reaction was immediate as the reddish-black paste lining the kanji began to glow. It flooded outward from the symbol and began to fill the inscriptions of the stars and elemental Kanji with a glow of blood-soaked chakra. Taking one last look at his young friend, he nodded. Naruto returned the nod and Gamabunta leapt away from the clearing and ran from the site as if he were being chased by the God of Death himself. He spared one last final remark to the boy as he ran. "Good luck my friend."

Naruto looked down from his fleeing sensei before returning his gaze to the series of glowing symbols that circled around him. When the glow of the lines finally reached him, the glow of blood-soaked chakra began to crawl up his skin as the Kanji and inscriptions on his back began to glow as well. They began to spiral and shrink toward the center of the spiral. The Kanji and stars on the ground began to shrink and spiral toward Naruto as the symbols slid up onto his skin and wrapped around the series of symbols already drawn on his back. The spiral at the center spun as it pulled the original numerical Kanji as well as the tails that wrapped around his shoulders, into itself. As the spiral continued to spin, each star began to shrink and pull into place around the rotating spiral. Each star turned black and the ancient Kanji for each corresponding element appeared at the center of each star. The spinning motion of the spiral came to a halt as the stars set into place around the spiral. Now just over a foot in diameter, the seal set into place with a small swirling line, connecting each star, and another swirling line connecting each star to the core of the spiral. Even though it came from his back, Naruto could see the glow of the chakra radiating outward from the seal as it set into place.

When the light subsided, Naruto looked around expectantly… nothing. _"Well that wasn't so bad now was…"_ His thought was interrupted by a sudden painful burning sensation across his back. The pain stretched out like a web, slowly encasing his entire body. From the seal on his back, dark red lines began to spread out in all directions, wrapping around him from every angle, each line carrying with it a much more potent burning sensation. To Naruto, it felt like someone had poured molten steel into every vein in his body. He fought against the pain that seemed to be infecting his entire body as best as he could, but soon it became far too much for the blonde to handle as he screamed out in pain. He folded over and hugged his sides and soon fell to his side in the fetal position as he writhed in pain on the loose soil below. He began clawing at his skin in an attempt to dig out the red lines that coursed through his body. The pain had become so immense that all sense of logic and reason had long since left his mind.

Covered in blood from all his clawing at his own flesh, the pain suddenly subsided. Almost as quickly as it had begun, the pain completed disappeared. Instead, the burning sensation was replaced by a cool and soothing feeling. Naruto laid there panting, as he pulled himself up off the ground. "Well that hurt like hell… but I figured there'd be more to it than just pain." He spoke solemnly as he rubbed his arms as the cool sensation sent a noticeable chill through his body.

Almost as if to answer his comment, he felt another surge of something. It wasn't pain this time… it felt completely opposite. It was pure, raw, unadulterated power that saturated every cell in his body, wrapping him in a feeling of sweet ecstasy and absolute bliss. The young blonde had never felt such a sensation in his life, but like many good things in life, it was fleeting. His luminescent blue eyes began to darken and turn into a dark shade of red, forming the familiar slitted eyes when he normally draws on the Kyuubi's chakra. His canines lengthened and his features began to resemble the face of his demonic-chakra enhanced state. Dark red chakra began to seep from the seal on his back, far darker than the usual reddish-orange color that he had come to recognize as the Kyuubi's chakra. It began to wrap and twist around him, spiraling its way up until it completely enveloped Naruto in its malicious dark-red haze.

Tendrils of blood-red chakra began to form around him. However instead of the typical bubbly tails that would normally form from behind him, they began to reach toward his head. Frozen in place by the raw power of the chakra, Naruto was left paralyzed as the tendrils reached his head and began to materialize into long braids of golden-blonde hair. Once they were completely solid, they reached nearly to his waist. The braids radiated that same dark-red chakra that had formed them, each braid resembling a single tail of the nine-tailed demon fox.

The moment that the demonic chakra soaked into the last braid of hair, a powerful force exploded from the blonde's entire body. Trees and forestry alike were split asunder and ripped from the ground in a massive wave as the powerful burst of chakra rocked the surrounding area, creating a shockwave that extended for miles, uprooting, shredding, and burning everything in its path.

Gamabunta, who was now a good few miles away, was knocked clean from his feet as the blast wave reached him with enough force to slam his body into a nearby tree. As luck would have it, the tree was unable to withstand the force of the blast and easily gave away when Gamabunta, still in his human form, was knocked into it. Albeit ever so slight, this softened the blow enough for Gamabunta to recover his footing and continue his sprint. However, the intense heat from the demonic chakra did little to make things easier for him. Despite the oppressive pressure of the hot chakra, he was able to fight through and continue his stride until reaching a distance just outside of the full force of the blast wave that centered on the blonde boy that now struggled to contain the mighty Kyuubi no Kitsune.

Back in the now infinitely larger clearing, Naruto struggled to his knees, fighting to regain control of this incredible surge of power and the demonic influence that had taken hold of him. The entire area had been set aflame and the air was filled with the luminescent dark-red haze of demonic chakra. He could feel the demon's presence tearing away at his consciousness, threatening to swallow him whole if he gave even an inch in this battle of wills against this ancient demon that has existed far longer than recorded mortal history.

Naruto cringed when he heard a wicked laughter that seemed to echo and reverberate all around him. The laughter continued until he finally realized that it was coming from his own mouth. Horror filled his mind at this realization, but paled in comparison to the chill that he felt when he realized that the malicious voice that he was hearing… was his own voice.

"_**Foolish boy! Did you honestly think that you could contain my power? Did you honestly think that you could contain ME? You have merely given me the key to my release, and of course, the key to your destruction. I will devour you whole!" **_Naruto was transported to the cage inside his own consciousness, the prison that held the Kyuubi. He looked up at the paper seal on the gate, as it burst into flames. The gates were pushed open with a blast that slammed him against the far wall. He lifted his eyes and saw that which he had feared most ever since his first encounter with the Kyuubi. He saw those terrible red eyes come closer, no longer contained by the cell-doors as a massive red paw slammed onto the ground, landing inches from his feet. He slammed shut his eyes and returned to the real world where he struggled to regain control of his own body. The maniacal laughter of the demon continued and Naruto couldn't even mutter a scream from his own mouth. As the chakra being emitted peaked once again, he lost control of his body as he stood up straight. He tried to fight the movement, but they were not under his control anymore. His body served a new master now.

"_**I wonder what kind of look your 'precious' friends will have when they see their dearest friend and comrade tear them limb from limb. I'll enjoy ripping the still-beating hearts from those wretched Leaf-nin with your body. Everything they have done to me, my imprisonment, my slavery… it shall all be repaid tenfold, starting with those closest to you." **_A wicked grin spread across Naruto's face, or rather, the Kyuubi's face now that he was in control.

The thought gave Naruto pause. His precious people… everyone was in danger now. If he did not stop this monster, everything he knew… everyone he loved… everything that he hasn't even yet seen… would all be destroyed, and by his own hands no less. Hardening his will, the blonde once again tried to give out commands to his limbs, finally getting a response from his right leg as he froze in place, halting the stride of his body and nearly causing the knee to buckle altogether. Naruto's facial features turned into a snarl as the demon vied for control of this body against the blonde's will. Finally with some measure of control, Naruto managed to regain control of his voice once again as he decided that it was his turn to speak.

"You… You're wrong you know. I'm not as weak as you think I am. Nobody underestimates Uzumaki Naruto and gets away with it! I won't let you hurt my precious people, even if I have to take us both down to depths of hell to do it! Even if I don't win here, I will see to it that neither do you!" His words came out with confidence and vigor, but that did little to diminish the surging chakra around him. The heat of this dark-red chakra began to burn at his skin. He could watch his skin heal almost instantly after the intense heat burned the skin from his body. With so much of the demonic chakra saturating his body, not only was the pain intensified ten-fold, but the regenerative powers of the of the demon were in a state of overdrive, equaling the damage being done. Before, when entered such a state as this, he would lose consciousness altogether, but not this time. This time he was fully aware of the pain of his skin being burned from his body. The pain was well beyond the point of screaming, making Naruto long for the petty burning red lines of molten steel that poured through his body earlier.

The entire area was now not only burning, but the very earth itself was beginning to burn from the extremely intense heat of the demonic chakra. His own clothes had long since disappeared, along with his pack and everything in it. Even though he had threatened to bring them both to the pits of hell, it would do little to stab himself with a melted kunai. As the fatigue from this battle began to wear on him, he felt his control begin to slip once again. He looked down at his right hand, his very sharpened claws standing out against the flaring red chakra and the burning embers of earth. "This is it. Now we die!" He closed his eyes and with a final push of the last of his willpower, he plunged the black claws of his hand into his own stomach, right at the heart of the Reaper Seal.

On cue, the demonic chakra began to subside and the oppressive force diminish. The tendrils of demonic chakra that saturated his braids fizzled out, leaving behind the long braids. His red-slitted eyes returned to their sparkling blue hue, making one wonder how something so deep and vast could ever become something so dark and sinister to behold. His demonic facial features subsided as well, but his hand remained buried in his stomach, seemingly unable to remove it on his own. His body refused to obey his commands any further.

Naruto's body fell to its knees with a loud crunch as his body caved and his knees gave away. He could feel the still burning embers of the earth beneath him, as the flames licked away at his body. He felt his limp body fall forward, unable to stop himself as his face landed on the blistering hot ground and the rest of his body followed suit, sending up a shower of sparks. The force of his landing however was enough to knock his hand loose from his stomach, but that did little to relieve the pain from the fact that he was laying in the heart of a massive conflagration. He briefly wondered if he would be able to fry an egg on himself as he forced a laugh that was cut short by a painful cough as blood shot forth from his mouth. He could feel the blood flow up his throat as if he could feel himself begin to drown in his own blood. The thought of his impending death mattered little to him anymore as whatever the hell just happened, was finally over. If he was to die here, at least he would be taking that damned fox with him back to hell, where it belonged. As long as he was able to save those that mattered most to him, his life meant nothing to him anymore. His suicide would be justified.

He paused to wonder why suddenly he didn't feel any pain from the fires around him. In fact, he couldn't feel anything at all. _"I guess this is what it feels like to die. It's so peaceful."_ He thought to himself as he looked out at the raging inferno all around him. At this point, he realized that the feeling of pain was likely little more than his own imagination making the sensation real. The ground was still hotter than the flames of hell itself, looking almost as if the great demon Ifrit had just risen from this very location, but he simply couldn't feel the heat anymore. His body was completely numb, devoid of any sensation whatsoever. He waited for death to claim him as his eyesight began to fail as his eyes closed, apparently the only part of his body that remained loyal to his commands. _"Damn traitorous body."_

Finally after ceasing the effort to remain awake, Naruto passed into blissful unconsciousness, unaware of the approaching presence. He had lost all sense of awareness and time, so it mattered little that he laid there for nearly three minutes before finally passing out from exertion and blood loss.

From the edge of the crater, nearly a hundred feet deep and over a mile in diameter, Gamabunta stood. He looked down at the center of the crater where the young blonde laid unconscious. He was utilizing a chakra barrier to protect himself form the burning earth below. Leaping down and moving at a hard pace, the old toad made his way to the boy and upon reaching him, began to check for signs of life among other things. After confirming him to be alive despite the gaping hole in his stomach that was slowly beginning to heal, Gamabunta inspected the newly formed seal on the boy's back. From what he could tell, everything was as it should be. He wondered exactly what had happened for Naruto to end up with a massive fist sized hole in his stomach. The seal still had an eerie dark-red glow around it, but he shrugged that off for the time being. What was important now was to get Naruto back to the cave and treat his wounds. Very carefully, Gamabunta knelt down at the blonde's side and gently scooped him up and held him bridal style in his arms. Quickly he turned around and started toward the edge of the crater with a powerful leap.

Upon reaching the edge of the crater, he turned around to take a last look at the scene. The damage was... indescribable. He had no doubt that the wave of chakra would be felt by everything and everyone within a hundred mile radius. Though people at such incredible distances would likely only feel a fraction of what hit him while he was running, there was little doubt that even those not familiar with the ways of chakra, would notice the wave. The entire area surrounding the crater was completely demolished. Trees were ripped, shredded and blown free from the ground for a good couple miles beyond the edges of the crater. Anything that remained was reduced to ashes. At the furthest edges of the impacted area was a wall of shredded trees, foliage, and dirt that piled up at the edges of where the first trees were able to withstand the force of the blast.

Flames were everywhere but they were dwindling quickly as rain clouds began to gather over the area as a result of the immense heat of the ritual. As he looked up at the clouds, he felt a single raindrop splash on his cheek and he decided that it was time to be going. He shifted the blonde's weight to his back and wrapped Naruto's arms around his neck. He grabbed hold of the boy's legs and with a final look around, the white-haired Gamabunta disappeared from the area with a burst of chakra to his legs to hasten his run back toward the cave.

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

**Author's Notes: Well, there it is. The chapter that I've been waiting to write for over a month now. Of course, I couldn't have done it without the help and creative genius of a good friend of mine, SMFox1987. He wrote almost the entire fusion ritual scene for me because I just don't have the kind of vision to give such life to this scene to the extent that I felt it deserved. I hope this will help to alleviate any confusion about Naruto's abilities that have been seen already in the Hokage Naruto timeline. Of course there will be some follow-up in the next chapter. Also, depending on if size allows, we may even see the return of Sasuke to the story. Stay tuned for Chapter 12 - Going Home. **


	12. Chapter 12 Going Home

-1Chapter 12 - Going Home. OK, for starters I have to apologize for taking so long to do this chapter. Recently I've really lost a lot of motivation, been really busy, and to be quite honest, the recent manga chapters have taken some of the wind out the sails of my story. But, for the sake of the dozen or so people that actually read this, I'm gonna try and finish what I started. So here it is, Chapter 12.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

The fires at the epicenter of the disaster continued to burn for nearly a full week as the intensity of the heat caused the ground to burn so hot that it become self-sustaining. The conflagration continued to burn into the earth until the flames reached a layer of mineral that would not burn under those conditions. Combined with the driving rains that had continued the entire while, the flames were eventually extinguished. Once it had all come to an end, the crater was almost a quarter-mile deep and nearly two miles in diameter, perfectly round in its shape. The disaster had also overtaken two mountain streams that ran through the area. In time, they resumed their flow once breaking through the landscaped wall that had been created by the pileup of destroyed trees at the edges of the chakra wave's area of affect.

As the streams flowed into the massive crater, the basin slowly began to fill. It would take another two seasons before the first runoff would breach the edges of the lake and a new river would form. The lake would eventually be named by Gamabunta as the "Eye of Uzumaki". He said that the name had too much significance to be ignored. First of all, was that the word Uzumaki means whirlpool which is usually defined as the meeting of opposing water currents, just as Naruto and the Kyuubi fought for control during the ritual. Secondly, was the obvious significance to Naruto's name and how the perfectly round blue lake resembled Naruto's own deep blue eyes. The third meaning was Naruto's own. He said it was meant as a tribute to the Uzumaki clan and how they were nearly wiped out. He said that it was to ensure that the memory of his clan would never be completely forgotten as long as the lake existed.

The river that overflowed from the river became known as Myouboku's Tear. The significance was of course a reference to how the lake was referred to as an eye and how the river ran from that eye. From a high enough distance, the lake looked like an eye on the mountain and the river ran from its edge like a string of tears.

It was almost a month before Naruto first opened his eyes and awoke from the comatose state that the traumatic ritual had placed him in. It would be almost another two weeks before he was able to fully recover his strength and resume his training.

First of course, was his new mental conditioning that Gamabunta carefully oversaw. The fusion ritual all but destroyed the Kyuubi as a separate entity that existed within Naruto. Even though Naruto won the battle of wills, the Kyuubi became a part of his own consciousness. Gamabunta was careful to make sure that Naruto completely understood what affect this would have on him. The greatest impact to his psyche would be the affect that the pure maliciousness of the Kyuubi would make itself known in how it would affect Naruto's own emotions. If Naruto wasn't careful to control his emotions, something that had thus far been his own greatest enemy, his anger could be driven out of control. The pure wrath of the Kyuubi in his psyche could force his emotional state out of control and he could very easily be driven into a murderous rage.

This affect to his emotions would also become more apparent the more heavily that he drew upon his demonic powers. Before the fusion, the limits of power that he could borrow from the Kyuubi was dictated by the will of the Kyuubi. Now that the power was his own, he would dictate how he used that power all of his own will. Even though his control over the Kyuubi's chakra was very good before the ritual, the fact that the demonic chakra at his disposal was nearly infinite now made the task of limiting his demonic chakra usage immeasurably more difficult. It took nearly another full two months of mass shadow-clone training before he became able to gain a decent amount of demonic chakra control. However, once he called upon more than a very carefully controlled amount of demonic chakra, he would become subject to the full force of the demonic chakra. Combined with the impact to his emotional state, this little or full force usage of the demonic chakra made him even more prone to frenzied states. This was the biggest curse and danger that this newly merged state would have on him. He became infinitely more dangerous to those around him if things got out of control.

The other change to Naruto's body was how his chakra system had been affected. Gamabunta was most afraid of this potential result as he had no way of knowing exactly how the ritual would affect Naruto. The first possibility would be that Naruto's and the Kyuubi's chakra would merge completely. The drastic change to his chakra's nature would essentially force Naruto to completely relearn the ninja arts. The second possibility would be that Naruto would retain two separate sources of chakra. The later was the result of the ritual. In time, Naruto became able to utilize each kind of chakra independently and eventually, even use them simultaneously. In the eyes of a Byakugan user, it would appear that he had two separate but overlapping chakra circulatory systems and nearly quadruple the normal amount of Tenketsu points.

Last of all, was how the fusion had impacted his physical form. Under normal circumstances, the only physical indicator was the constant presence of the new seal on his back. The original Reaper Seal had been destroyed for the most part as a result of Naruto impaling himself on his clawed hand. As the wound healed, the seal was not regenerated as it had no purpose anymore. Later on, Naruto had the original Reaper Seal design tattooed back onto his belly for reasons of sentimentality and as a reminder of the way he used to be.

If he limited his usage of the Kyuubi chakra, his physical appearance remained unchanged. However, when he unleashed the full force of the demonic chakra, this could not be further from the truth. His voice would deepen and resemble the dual voices of the Kyuubi and his own scream, both speaking simultaneously. As before when he pulled on his Kyuubi chakra, he grew long fangs. This remained largely the case afterward as well. The whites of his eyes would disappear altogether and be replaced by an empty field of black. His striking blue eyes would be replaced by a malevolent burning-red iris. The whisker-like scars on his cheeks would appear deeper and darker than normal. His hair would also change as large tufts of his hair would grow out and stand on end to resemble large ears like those of a fox. This was of course in addition to the nine large braids that grew from his head, reminiscent of the nine tails of the fox. Lastly were his hands and feet. His fingers would grow slightly longer and grow long black claws at the tips of his fingers. The claws appeared at the ends of his toes as well.

When Naruto assumed this form, he swore that he could hear the whispers of the Kyuubi trying to drive him into a frenzy. He had to accept that the Kyuubi was always going to be there in his mind and that he would have no choice but to learn how to ignore those whispers.

Gamabunta warned Naruto that he must be most careful to safeguard the secret of his fusion with the Kyuubi. As far as the rest of the world was to be concerned, the Reaper Seal had been reinforced by the new seal and he had trained extensively in his time on the mountain. Gamabunta had known enough of the human world to predict that if they knew about Naruto's fusion with the demon, they would treat him as a demon altogether. This was the secret that Naruto was cursed to bare for the rest of his life. The secret of who and what he now was.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

At long last, the day had come that Naruto both feared and longed for. It had been three full years since that day that he witnessed the death of Kakashi and was told about the death of Jiraiya. Three years since he began an unparalleled training regimen under the tutelage of the toads. Three years since he had donned his Konoha Leaf Protector over his old orange and black uniform. Three years since he had been home. Finally, this day had come. He was going home; home to Konoha.

In those three years, he had matured beyond his years, and become immeasurably stronger than before. Now eighteen years old, his arsenal of jutsus was immense as was his capacity to use them. His mind had become far sharper than before as his instinctual sense for combat strategy had been honed like the edge of a fine sword. Gamakichi made for him a new uniform to wear for his return. It was the black knee-length pants and long-sleeved black shirt. Under the shirt, he wore a mesh short-sleeved shirt for a layer of protection. He had the same forehead protector that was set into the long black headband that tied around his head. Gamakichi also made for him the long white coat similar in appearance to the coat of his father, Namikaze Minato.

He packed the last of his belongings into his pack as he slung it over his shoulder and walked toward the entrance of the cave with his toad friends, teachers, and family at his back. As he reached the opening, he stopped and turned around to face the toads. Gamabunta, Gamakichi, and Gamakiri had all gathered to see Naruto off. Naruto looked as if he was struggling to make the right words for the occasion.

"Just go Naruto." Snickered Gamabunta with a smile on his face. "It's not like you wont ever see us again. If you ever have the need to return, just use the special summoning scroll that I made for you and you will return here. Now go. Konoha is waiting for you."

Without any words, Naruto simply smiled and turned around to face the panoramic scene of the mountainside below. He formed a short series of hand seals and with a wisp of red, smoky chakra, he disappeared.

He reappeared at the memorial site outside of Konoha. Before he set foot inside the gates of Konoha, he had two people to visit first. First off, he walked toward the memorial stone that had been placed for Jiraiya. "I'm sorry that I couldn't have been there for you sensei. I know that I'm the reason you went to investigate Akatsuki in the first place. I can't help but feel that I was the reason you died. I'm sure you had your own amount of reasons to do what you did, but as far as I'm concerned, you died for me and I will never forget what you did. I can only hope to honor your memory by seeing to it that the one that killed you will be brought to justice at my hand. I will miss you sensei." He ended his time at Jiraiya's grave by placing his old frog change purse at the foot of the stone with a small smile on his face.

After that, he walked toward Kakashi's memorial stone. As he looked at the stone, he was overcome by emotion. He fell to a single knee as his eyes welled up with tears. "I'm so sorry sensei." Words escaped him any further as the flood of emotion prevented him from speaking any further.

Finally, he calmed himself enough to speak again. He also knew what could happen if he failed to keep his emotions in check. As his feeling of sadness began to overtake him, he could feel the presence of the Kyuubi make itself known as the demonic influence tried to gain a foothold on his state of mind. " I wish that I could have saved you sensei. I wasn't strong enough then, but I do believe that I'm strong enough now. I think that you would be proud to see the progress that I've made. I know that you wouldn't have approved of what I had to do to gain that strength, but I had no choice. My life is dedicated now to protecting those that I love. I finally feel like I understand how Sasuke feels about his brother. That kind of dedication, that kind of drive. Unlike him however, I won't let myself be consumed by anger like he did. I know that my goal of bringing him back to Konoha was a fool's goal. His mind was so… so twisted. I can still save him though. I won't let my best friend be consumed by his own rage. That promise I made so many years ago, I will still honor it. I only hope that I can do your memory the honor that it deserves. You gave me more than I could have ever hoped. You were my teacher. You were my friend. You were my family. You will always be my family."

He placed his hand on the stone and closed his eyes for a moment of remembrance before he stood up and collected his thoughts.

The scene had not gone on entirely unwitnessed as another man had walked silently through the gate that lead into the memorial site. It was Umino Iruka. He arrived to pay his respects to his own parents when he saw the blonde man kneeling before Kakashi's memorial stone. At first, he didn't recognize the man and for a moment considered making his presence known until he heard what sounded like crying. He decided to give the unknown man a little time before he interjected. Finally, he recognized the blonde hair and white jacket. _"It can't be. That's the Fourth's overcoat, and that blonde hair…" _As he looked at the man in total shock, he finally recognized who he was looking at. The blonde man stood up and after a few seconds, Iruka finally spoke a single word. "Naruto?"

The blonde turned his head ever so slightly, just enough to reveal a single deep blue eye. "It's good to see you again Iruka-sensei. It's been too long."

"Is that really you Naruto?" Iruka asked almost as if he was staring at a ghost.

"Of course it is sensei." Naruto replied. He still didn't turn around completely however which made Iruka feel somewhat unsure still. He got an eerie feeling from the blonde yet still. It made him feel very uneasy.

"Then turn and face me Uzumaki Naruto." He demanded. The strange feeling in his gut was making him very uncomfortable. Afterall, he was looking at someone that had disappeared years ago and for all that Konoha knew, would never be seen again.

No word had ever been sent since the first message that was delivered to Hokage Tsunade's office simply stating, "Naruto is with us on Myouboku Mountain." It was signed with the symbol of the toads. For all that Konoha had known, the message could have been a forgery and Naruto could have been lost to them forever. The fact that for three years not a single message had been delivered to Konoha had driven some to suspect that maybe he had died or been taken by Akatsuki. Seeing as nobody in Konoha knew how to get to Myouboku Mountain, there was no positive result of any investigations.

Slowly, Naruto turned to face his former sensei. Immediately, Iruka recognized those endless blue eyes as those of Uzumaki Naruto. "Naruto! It's really you! You've come home!" Iruka couldn't help but let a huge smile and a tear of joy spread across his face.

Naruto replied with a simple nod and closed eyes. "I'll have to let you treat me to Ichiraku Ramen later sensei. I have some business to attend to first."

With those words, he formed a series of hand seals and disappeared in a burst of red, smoky chakra. He reappeared silently in the office of Lady Tsunade to see Tsunade passed out in her big chair. A wicked grin grew across his face as he had an idea that he knew he would come to regret. He slammed his hands on her desk, which caused Tsunade to jump back to consciousness.

As his eyes met hers, he spoke these words. "So, how about those Chuunin Exams? I can't very well go on being a Genin all my life ya know."

As soon as Tsunade cleared her eyes well enough to match the face to the voice, she quickly stood up. Her usual stern way of speaking was replaced by a voice of glee. "Naruto? You've returned?" Naruto nodded in reply and Tsunade punched him across the face as she resumed her usual demeanor. "DON'T YOU EVER SPOOK ME LIKE THAT EVER AGAIN! AND DON'T YOU EVER GO RUNNING OFF LIKE THAT!!"

The force of the blow sent Naruto flying across the room and crashing into the wall. The wall gave away and Naruto landed in the office of Shizune. He picked himself up and nodded to Shizune before dusting himself off and returning to Tsunade's office. "Well I suppose I deserved that much."

"Damn straight you did!" Tsunade shouted as she walked around her desk and gave Naruto a big hug. She let loose her gorilla grip as she ruffled Naruto's hair and continued on. "You have a lot of explaining to do."

Shizune jumped through the hole in the wall and smiled to see that Naruto had returned. "It's good to see you return Naruto. The entire village has missed you." Tsunade waved her off and Shizune returned to her paperwork in her own office.

"I think we can do away with the formalities of the Chuunin Exams with you." Tsunade continued. "Pending some testing, I don't see any reason why we can't just have you promoted to Chuunin without the need for the exams. Maybe even Jounin as I'm sure that your time on the mountain has made you grow up enough to handle some responsibility. We will just have to send you out to lead some team missions to evaluate your skills as a leader. You'll be happy to know that Sakura has made the rank of Jounin as well."

"That's as much as I had expected of Sakura." Naruto replied with a smile on his face. "But, if you don't mind, I need to do some catching up. I'm sure that you know what I'm referring to."

Tsunade's smile disappeared and was replaced with a look of grave concern. "Of course. Akatsuki and Sasuke. Well unfortunately, without Jiraiya's network, we have been at somewhat of a loss for good information. There have been rumors of Akatsuki sightings in the Fire Country and other places, but the best that we can confirm is that they are looking for you. As far as Sasuke is concerned, we have no idea. There hasn't even been a rumored sighting of him that we can confirm."

"As I would expect from Sasuke as well. If he didn't want to be found, then he would be able to make that happen." Naruto replied with a solemn look on his face. "The toads were able to get information that a member of Sasuke's squad was a former member of the Hidden Mist Village." Perhaps he sought refuge there."

"If that's the case, then he will be well hidden. Not so much as rumor escapes those gates." Tsunade answered. "But I suppose my words will fall on deaf ears if I tell you that you have more pressing matters to be concerned about."

"Akatsuki, I know." Naruto replied before Tsunade could continue. "Uchiha Madara among them as well as Jiraiya's killer, a man with the fabled Rin'Negan eyes that refers to himself as Pein. Evidently, he used to be a student of Jiraiya's."

Tsunade nodded in agreement. "Our intelligence tells us that he makes his base out of the Hidden Rain Village and that he is looking for you personally. I can't warn you enough to stay clear of that man Naruto."

"Yes, I know." Naruto cut her off again before she could finish. "Stay away from him. They want to get the Kyuubi. I know the drill. No need to spell it out for me. I won't let that happen."

Tsunade smirked at Naruto's words. "Still that same old thickheaded mindset that you can't fail I see."

"I have failed enough already." Naruto replied with a stern tone of voice. "I will not fail again." The look in his eyes almost seemed to worry Tsunade. She recognized that more than just his age had changed. He was a different person now. He was a man now. "I hope you will give me permission to gather a team to look for them. I will bring Akatsuki what they deserve. I can't let them continue on."

"I can understand your concern, but with what's at stake you know that I can't just let you put together a team and go running around looking for Akatsuki." Tsunade replied. "We have to keep you in Konoha, but as I'd expect from you, my word will do little to stop you anyway." Naruto nodded in agreement. His eyes spelled it all out for Tsunade. He had a mission to accomplish and nothing would stop him now. "Well then, I suppose we have some things to discuss first."

Tsunade sat down and Naruto stood at attention to discuss the matters at hand.

About an hour later, Naruto walked out the front door of the Hokage tower. Even though he never set foot on the streets of Konoha itself, word had already spread about his return. He set foot on the street to find an entire row of his best friends standing in front of the Hokage tower. Neji, Rock Lee, Tenten, Chouji, Ino, Kiba, Shino, Sai, and Shikamaru with Temari. Hidden behind the group was Hinata as usual.

The entire group cheered to see their long lost friend had returned. Kiba and Chouji were of course the first ones to break ranks and run up to their friend and give him a big hug and cheers.

"I'll bet you are dying to have some real food eh Naruto?" Cheered Chouji with a big smile on his face. "Barbecue is on me!"

"It's about time you got back." Kiba followed up with. "I've had to spend the last three years picking up the slack from you being gone."

Naruto returned the greetings with a big smile of his own. "It's good to be back guys. It's been a long three years without all of you."

Rock Lee issued a challenge to Naruto once he got settled down again. Ino wanted to show Naruto the changes that she had made to the flower shop. Neji offered his services to help bring Naruto back up to speed with the village's goings on. Shino said nothing as usual. Tenten was just happy to see that Naruto had returned. Sai wanted to show Naruto the artwork that he had been working on since Naruto's departure.

"More Chuunin Exams Shikamaru?" Naruto asked Shikamaru with a sly grin as he looked toward Temari. Shikamaru only answered by rubbing the back of his head, groaning, and looking at the ground.

Temari answered for him by showing Naruto the ring on her finger with a big smile as she whacked Shikamaru on the back of his head. "Tell him dammit!"

"Aah, what a bother." Shikamaru started. "Yeah, we got married about a year ago. That and we have another Naara on the way as he looked down at Temari's tummy.

"Haa! Congratulations you two!" I always knew that you would eventually get together!" Naruto responded with a big smile.

"Yeah. I'm not the only one." Shikamaru answered as he pointed at Kiba, Shino, Tenten, and Rock Lee.

"All of you have gotten married? Congratulations to all of you!" Naruto replied excitedly. Each responded with a nod.

"And Shino and Kiba have little ones on the way as well." Shikamaru continued. "They just found out a few days ago."

"Well that's great news!" Naruto replied. He smiled wide and was so happy that the fact that he had spent the last three years away from his friends seemed to disappear for at least a moment.

Then something that no one had expected, happened. Hinata stepped out from the group. Her jet-black hair hung straight down to about halfway down her back and straight bangs covered her forehead. She wore dark blue Capri-cut pants and a mesh shirt over a low-cut, tight and short black shirt. All this was under her gray summer jacket that she wore opened in front. The pockets in front were rather deep. In true Hinata style, she kept looking at the ground and hid her hands deep in the pockets of her jacket as if she was trying to hide herself inside. She had a look on her shy face as if she was trying to psyche herself up for something. Finally she ran up to Naruto and threw her arms around his shoulders. A tear from her closed eyes ran down her cheek as she spoke with a shaky voice, "I missed you so much Naruto-kun."

Everyone in the group gasped at the sight. Naruto however only closed his eyes as her words reminded him of his absence once again. He hugged her in return and in that moment, he felt something that he had never felt before. This was different from any other friendly hug. Perhaps it was just his long time away. Perhaps he had finally grown up. Perhaps this is something that he had always felt, but never knew it. Either way, it put a big smile on his face at her next words whispered into his ear. "I don't ever want you to leave again."

"I'll never leave like that again." Naruto whispered back. "It's a promise." Hinata answered with a kiss on the cheek and squeezed even tighter. Naruto smiled and glanced up to see the row of shocked faces standing before him. He didn't seem to care at all. Even Kiba was left speechless at the scene unfolding before them. Tenten's eyes welled up with tears of course as Ino did the same. Even Rock Lee looked like he was holding back a tear.

After what felt like a sweet eternity, he released the embrace and a voice he hadn't heard in three years filled his ears.

"Hello Naruto." Spoke the unseen person.

Naruto whipped around and saw his teammate and the girl to whom he owed the promise of a lifetime. Except that for now, she was no girl. Now eighteen years old herself, she had definitely grown into a woman. Her long pink hair was still kept tied behind her head by her headband and her green eyes glistened in the fading sunlight. She answered Naruto's smile with a wide smile of her own as she ran up and gave Naruto a crushing hug. As she released the hug, she wound up to deliver a punch to his face while she shouted, "Don't you ever disappear like that again!"

He could see it coming. He could see the muscles flinch in her right shoulder. He could see the shift to brace her right leg. He could see the slight twist of the abdomen. He almost felt like taking the hit for nostalgia sake, but he was still feeling the affects of Tsunade's punch. Effortlessly, he swayed to the right and grabbed hold of her forearm as the fist flew past. In a single swift motion, he turned his hand and pulled her right arm across her chest as he turned her body inside his own arm, leaving Naruto standing directly behind Sakura while still holding her arm from behind.

Somewhat surprised by his maneuver, Sakura turned around with an angry scowl on her face. The scowl failed in a matter of seconds however as a big smile grew across her face instead. "You've gotten faster Naruto. It's great to see you back home where you belong."

Naruto answered with a closed-eyes smile and a nod. Deep inside, the thought of what dwelled inside him never left his mind. His mind was in two places at once. On one hand, he couldn't be happier than he was right now, standing here with his friends. On the other hand, the secret that he would carry for his entire life continued to eat away at his soul, always trying to come to the surface.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Later that night while Naruto was sleeplessly walking around town trying to feel like a member of the village again, he was met by an old friend.

"Naruto." The man spoke as he came into view from around the corner ahead of Naruto.

"Neji? Is that you?" Naruto replied when he recognized the voice. A moment later, Neji appeared from behind the next building.

"Naruto, we need to speak. Meet me at the training ground just outside the eastern wall in half an hour." Neji spoke in reply just before he jumped out of sight.

Naruto was left a bit confused, but the tone in which Neji spoke was one of seriousness. _"He wouldn't just come out of the dark and say something like that unless he had something to tell me that no one else could hear. Even for Neji, he sounded more serious than usual. So much for a normal first day."_

Just as Neji requested, Naruto appeared at the training grounds just outside the eastern wall of Konoha. He was greeted by Neji at the center of the training grounds. The training area was little more than a clearing in the trees with little else to describe the area. Naruto walked into the training grounds with a serious look on his face. "So what was it you needed to speak with me about?"

Unlike his usual stone-cold demeanor, Neji hesitated to answer.

"Just come out with it Neji." Naruto spoke once he saw Neji's hesitation. "It's not like you to hold back your words, so just say it." He spoke with a serious tone that was completely uncharacteristic from what Neji had remembered of the blonde. The surprise was clear in Neji's face.

Neji looked down toward the ground and to his right for a moment before answering. A moment later, Hinata walked into the training grounds from the southern entrance.

Upon seeing Hinata walk into the grounds, Naruto was shocked. "What is this Neji? What's going on here?" Naruto tried to hold back the look of fear that suddenly gripped him when he realized what was going on. _"The Byakugan! Why else would he bring Hinata here? What did he see?"_

"What's going on Neji?" Hinata asked with a shaky and frightened tone to her voice. "Naruto-kun? Why are you here?"

"See for yourself Hinata." Neji replied coldly. "Use your eyes. I'm sorry Naruto, but she has to know."

Those words shook Naruto to the bone. His secret was about to be uncovered before the end of his first day home! That realization angered Naruto as he clenched his jaw tight. It took only a few seconds before he realized that this was inevitable. It would only be a matter of time before they would be put into a situation where those white eyes would reveal his secret.

Hinata could see the look of anger and sudden despair in Naruto's eyes before she looked toward Neji for an explanation. She didn't know what to do and from the look on her face, she didn't want to know.

"You really need to learn how to mask that chakra of yours better Naruto." Neji replied with his usual stone-cold demeanor.

Naruto sighed deeply at Neji's words. "Go ahead Hinata. You might as well learn the truth now."

Hinata looked at Neji with fear in her eyes. Neji only nodded in reply. Then she looked into Naruto's eyes. With a frowning face, Naruto gave the same nod. She slowly raised her shaking hands and formed the seal. **"Byakugan."** With these words, the veins around her eyes swelled and the truth was revealed. Even though her eyes were not as sharp as Neji's, she could clearly see the two distinctly different overlapping chakra systems. She stepped back in shock as she had recognized that signature of the new chakra. It was the Kyuubi's! "Wh… what…"

"Please forgive me for what I've done." Naruto spoke sorrowfully. "I had no choice but to become one with that demon to defeat the enemies of Konoha. I had no choice."

"Hmph." Scoffed Neji. "Just like you to go ahead and do something so foo.."

"DON'T EVEN FINISH THAT WORD!" Naruto snapped angrily as he glared at Neji. His blue eyes flickered momentarily to reveal the crimson red of the demon's eyes. "Don't even think that you are in a position to question me! For someone that speaks so highly of destiny, I would have thought that you of all people might understand. I have made my choice and this is my destiny."

Neji hesitated to reply as even he, was shaken by the raw aggression steaming out from Naruto. "You became one with a demon Naruto! How could that have been.."

"You have no idea Neji. The day that you are forced to make a choice like I did, is the day that you can question my decision. The day that you, are forced to choose between returning home knowing that you won't be able to save those that you hold most precious, or become one with that which you most despise most and sacrifice your entire life…" Naruto hesitated to continue as he tried to keep his emotions in check. "Look, there's no way that I can justify my choice in your minds. The fact of the matter is that I have no reason to justify my choice to you."

"I can't let this go unknown Naruto." Neji interrupted. "I intend to tell Hokage-sama and the village will have to.."

"You will say NOTHING!" Naruto snapped angrily again as his eyes flickered red once again as Naruto bared his sharp teeth. Red chakra burst forth from his body, lifting his blonde hair and the ends of his headband aloft. "Just as my family was kept a secret from me for 'my own safety', so shall my secret be kept from them. The last thing they need to know, is that the demon that nearly destroyed Konoha eighteen years ago, is alive and well within its own walls."

"I can't let you do this Naruto!" Neji spoke up with fear in his voice. "The village has a right.."

"You will tell NO ONE!" Naruto shouted angrily as his eyes flared red once again! "And you will never question my choice again."

Hinata watched what was going on as fear shook her to the bone. Her shaking legs could barely support her as she began to feel the pure anger that was pouring forth from Naruto's body. That 'rage' was beginning to show as a dark red mist began to pour forth from Naruto's body. It was as if his anger was becoming tangible.

"You will not stop my destiny Neji. I have made my choice, and my destiny is to see that all those that have wronged Konoha, my friends, and my comrades are brought to ruin by any and all means." Naruto spoke as his breathing became heavy. "My destiny will consume my life and you will not stop me. Now agree to this or face my the alternative." Naruto spoke as he clenched his fists and made a slight motion as if to prepare himself for combat.

"Stop!" Hinata screamed as she ran toward and embraced Naruto. "Please Stop!" Tears ran down her cheeks as she held Naruto tight despite the waves of malevolent chakra that were pouring forth. Her embrace brought a sense of calmness to Naruto as he closed his eyes and brought the flow of demonic chakra to a halt. Slowly, he came back to his senses and calmed himself down.

"_Damn. That was too close." _Naruto thought as he worked to keep his emotions under control once again. "I'm sorry.. Hinata. You would do well to forget what feelings you have for me. I'm not who I used to be."

"Don't say that." Hinata cried as the tears continued to stream down her cheeks. "Of course you are. You are still the Naruto that I loved back then… and still do."

"It's.. different now.. Hinata." Naruto replied quietly. "I.. I can't…"

"Yes you can!" Hinata cried. Her tears fell from her cheeks and sank into Naruto's black shirt.

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Neji who was standing in astonishment at what he had just seen. "This has to remain a secret. I will tell Tsunade when I feel the time is right and the rest of the village will be kept in the dark. They can't know what I've done. Nobody can. I am trusting you to keep this secret, just as I would trust you with my own life. Now do I have your word Neji?"

Neji looked down at the ground as he thought about the situation. After a few seconds of silence, he raised his blank eyes and nodded back in response. "You have my word.. Naruto."

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

(back to the future timeline with Naruto and little Kakashi)

"Now you know." Naruto spoke quietly to his son as the flames died down. He had long since cut the last braid from his hair and his appearance was his usual. Kakashi had sat silently throughout the entire story, listening closely to his father's tale.

"I guess that explains what I saw." Kakashi spoke. "That monster I saw was your chakra." Naruto nodded with closed eyes in response.

"I'm sorry that you had to see that Kakashi." Naruto spoke solemnly. "I had hoped that you would never have to see that. That you would be able to see me as a man, and not a monster."

"I see you as my father." Answered Kakashi. "You are my father and always will be. Nothing you can tell me could ever change that. Nothing you could ever do could change that. I love you dad."

Naruto smiled gently as he looked at his son. "Thanks son. You have no idea how much that means to me." He reached for and held his son in a loving embrace. He released his hug and spoke again. "Now you get some sleep son. We are going to continue back to Konoha at daybreak."

Kakashi obediently tucked himself into his knapsack and went to sleep with a smile on his face. Naruto sat vigilantly, watching over his one and only son.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

(back to the past timeline)

Around the same time that Naruto had left his tutelage under the great toads, another was about to embark on the rest of his own journey. Almost three years had passed since the remaining three members of Team Hebi had entered the walls of the Hidden Mist Village. Sasuke, Suigetsu, and Juugo stood on a small boat at the gates of the village, awaiting the word from Rokusa to open the gates. Sasuke couldn't have looked more eager to resume his mission to look for his brother, no matter how much he tried to conceal his cold and emotionless appearance. Juugo looked as if he was finally at ease now that they were leaving this village. Suigetsu, now a full-fledged member of the Seven Swordsmen, was somewhat more questionable. A part of him wanted to stay home, whereas the other part of him wanted to prove himself and seek out Hoshigake Kisame to carve his name in the records of the Mist Village by slaying their most wanted missing-nin. Suigetsu shared some last words and a handshake from his brother before the order was given to open the gates.

The massive gates swung open slowly and the boat departed as Suigetsu pushed the boat forward with a long pole.

As the boat breached the outer edges of the gate, the great door was swung closed. The party moved slowly outward toward the edges of the foggy marsh. Eventually, they had made it to the western shore of the Water Country. The entire trip was as silent as a graveyard. Juugo was the first to break the silence.

"I for one will be happy just to get out of that damned fog." He muttered.

"Bah. You just aren't suited to it. Give it enough time, and you would get used to it." Suigetsu replied.

"I'd rather not." Juugo answered with a blank expression.

"So where next Sasuke?" Suigetsu asked. "Where do you think we should try next?"

"Well the intelligence of your village suggested that Akatsuki made base out of the Hidden Rain Village, but that doesn't mean Itachi is there." Sasuke answered solemnly. "Besides, I think I'd rather stay away from there. We don't need any other Akatsuki to get involved."

"Well that only leaves the rest of the world. How convenient." Suigetsu responded with a sarcastic smirk.

"All we know is that they are migrant and don't stay in the same place for any given amount of time." Sasuke continued. "The only thing that we know about Itachi and Kisame's patterns is that they are looking for Naruto."

"You aren't suggesting that we…" Juugo interrupted.

"Of course not." Sasuke cut him off. "We can't go anywhere near Konoha. Besides, we don't have any intelligence on his location either. From the Mist Village has learned, he hasn't been seen since we saw his clone before I found Itachi. The best that we can hope for is that he shows himself and we can begin to track his own movements. Either that, or they will find us on their own."

"Well I guess that's better than wandering around completely aimlessly." Suigetsu replied. "But its about as much as we can hope for at this time. Hopefully some information on your friend from Konoha will be easier to come by than Akatsuki's whereabouts."

The group paid for fare across the sea on a small ship to head toward the Fire Country. Just as they set onto the boat, a familiar figure appeared from the ground where they just stood. "So he is still looking for Itachi." _"__**That would seem to be the case."**_"I suppose we should let the leader know what is going on. Madara will definitely want to know where to find Sasuke. We know where they will land and it will take up to a couple days to get there." _**"That will give us plenty of time to come back and shadow Sasuke if that's what Madara wants."**_

Zetsu sunk back into the ground as the ship departed.

**x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**

Author's Notes: Once again, I'm sorry it took me so long to finish this chapter. I've just been busy as hell and haven't had the time to put into this chapter as I would have liked. I threw in a little bit of the start of Naruto and Hinata's romance for the sake of the story. Also, I hoped to provide a bit of background to the curse that Naruto carries for his entire life now. I wanted to give you a bit of why Naruto's decision to merge with the Kyuubi has such dire consequences and not just a means of unlimited power. Anyway, I'm gonna start on the next chapter as soon as I figure out exactly how I want to write out Sasuke's next encounter.


	13. Chapter 13 Deployment

**Chapter 13 - Deployment. Well, it's taken forever but I'm finally back on track, sorta. Recent events in the manga (specifically chapters 395-402) have somewhat thrown a wrench into my story as I like to stay at least somewhat true to the manga. For the most part, I will be able to continue on without any major adjustments to the story already written. As for the rest of the story, I am going to incorporate certain parts of the new chapters from the actual manga but still be able to remain solid to my original ideas. **

**X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X**

The three members of Team Hebi had reached the shores of Fire Country in two days time. Unfortunate for the trio however, was the fact that it was more than long enough for their whereabouts to become known to Akatsuki. As they made their way around the southern borders of the Fire Country, Zetsu was close behind to keep tabs on their location at all times.

"So I know I won't get a decent answer, but where are we going exactly?" Asked Suigetsu. It was easy to see that he was growing more and more irritated at their lack of progress. He was here to make a name for himself with the Hidden Mist and thus far, their plan consisted of waiting for Akatsuki to find them.

"I don't know." answered Sasuke coldly. "For the time being, we will head toward the River Country. If we are lucky, we will be able to turn up some leads on the way. That or…"

"Lemme guess. They will find us instead." Replied Suigetsu as he rolled his eyes. "All this blind wandering is seriously starting to bore me. Something better happen soon or I'll.."

"Shut up!" Shouted Juugo suddenly. "Something's wrong here. The smell.. It's.."

The team stopped and looked around cautiously as Sasuke activated his Sharingan and began to scan the area.

"There!" Sasuke shouted as he pointed forward and placed his hand on Kusanagi.

"What is it? I don't see anything." Replied Juugo as he placed his hand on the giant steel paddle that had become his weapon since his training with the Mist Village.

"Trust me. He is there." Sasuke spoke silently as he smirked and pulled his sword from its sheath.

"Oh please boy. Put that toy away." A mysterious voice arose from ahead of the group. _**"Do you think me that big of a fool to meet you here under any conditions other than my own?" **_

"It's you again. Show yourself!" Sasuke demanded. He had little more idea about his would-be-opponent than what he saw when he faced Itachi, but he showed no fear anyway. Based on their encounter earlier, at that time, Sasuke was no match for this strange opponent. That however, was before nearly three years of training under the Mist Swordsmen.

"What the.." Suigetsu gasped as he reached for his throat. "What the hell is.." He gasped for breathe as began to cough violently. Moments later, Juugo began to cough violently as well.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Sasuke shouted as he tried to look around with his Sharingan.

"Don't bother boy. Those eyes will do you no good. My poisons aren't chakra based. You can't see shit." Zetsu spoke as he stepped out from the tree he had been hiding inside. _**"Don't worry boy. It's not fatal. We can't afford to have you die on us before we are finished with you."**_

Suigetsu fell to the ground seconds later, unconscious. Juugo fell moments later. Sasuke was trying to hold his breathe as he figured out that they had just walked into a poison trap of some kind, but that did little to halt its affects. "Who are.. what do.. " Sasuke spoke before he coughed violently and was forced to take a deep breathe of the invisible noxious gas.

"That's right. Breathe deep boy." Zetsu spoke as he approached the falling trio. "Go to sleep now."

Sasuke tried in vain to raise his sword but his strength was gone. He dropped the sword as he fell to the ground just like his teammates. Staring up at his captor, his eyes closed slowly.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Sasuke groaned as he slowly began to wake up again. He winced in pain as he tried to grab his head before he even opened his eyes.

"The headache will pass soon." A familiar voice spoke.

"_ITACHI!"_ Sasuke thought immediately as his eyes snapped open. His arms were bound behind his back and his weapon had been removed from his belt. Sasuke looked around to see that he was in a dimly lit room with Itachi sitting vigilantly on a simple chair at one end of the room. The air was stagnant, almost musty. The room was simple with just bare walls and a door. The room was not large enough to contain a fight of any kind. He quickly figured that this might have been what Zetsu was referring to when he said they had plans for him.

Itachi sat with Sasuke's sword in hand. "It's a good blade. Orochimaru must have thought very highly of you." Itachi stood up and pulled the blade from the scabbard as he swung toward Sasuke, cutting the ropes. He then slammed the end of the blade into the wooden floor just in front of Sasuke's eyes. "When you have your strength back, come outside. This will be your only chance to get what it is that you seek."

With those words, Itachi walked out the door and closed it behind him. Sasuke slowly sat up, grabbed his sword, placed it in the scabbard once again, and set it into his belt. Still a bit nauseous from the affects of the gas and having a terrible headache, he knew that he was in no shape to fight his older brother quite yet. He pulled himself up slowly and sat in the chair at the end of the room. It wasn't more than a few short moments before he fell asleep again.

His sleep was restless, but when he awoke, he felt completely refreshed. _"How long was I asleep?" _He thought as he opened his eyes and saw a small table with some fruit sitting on a tray. For some reason, he wasn't worried in the slightest as to if the food was safe or not. He knew that Itachi wouldn't stoop to poisoned food to get any advantage. He knew that Itachi wanted to face him at full strength. Quickly he grabbed an apple and took a bite. It was a very sweet apple indeed. Before he finished the apple, he felt that he was ready to face his fate. He stood up and walked toward the door. With his Sharingan active and one hand on his sword, he grabbed the doorknob and walked outside.

As expected, there was Uchiha Itachi, leaning on a tree. They were standing in a small clearing in the middle of a densely forested area. Sasuke could hear waves breaking on a shoreline off in the distance. The building that he had just walked out of was a small and simple shack. From the outside, it appeared quite rundown from years of non-use. There were two paths leading from the clearing. One path lead toward the sound of the waves, most likely to the shore of what sounded like an ocean from the loudness of the waves. The other path lead straight out of the clearing in the opposite direction.

"We are just a short distance from the southern shores of the River Country, not far from the borders of the Fire Country." Itachi spoke calmly.

"It doesn't matter where we are!" Shouted Sasuke angrily as he readied his grip on his sword. "Where is the rest of my team?"

"Hmph. Your team?" Itachi scoffed but his blank expression didn't change at all. "What does it matter?"

"Damn you Itachi!" Shouted Sasuke angrily as he gritted his teeth.

Itachi opened his eyes to read Sasuke's reaction. "What do you care? Aren't they just with you to help you find me?"

"I don't need them!" Shouted Sasuke back. "All I need is right here! No one else matters. Just you and me. Soon, it will be just me. Then, is your master, this Madara."

Itachi chuckled with an evil smile before responding. "Just as I have told you before, without my eyes, you stand no chance against me."

"And I have told you before that I will get power in my own way to destroy you. You underestimate me brother. When we met before, I was already powerful enough to destroy you. I am far more powerful now, more than enough to kill you." Sasuke sneered back with a malicious smile of his own.

"Believe what you will little brother. None of that matters now anyway. Things have changed in the last three years." Itachi explained calmly.

"Nothing has changed! Nothing!" Sasuke shouted back as he once again tightened his grip on his Kusanagi sword! "You have to die for what you've done to our clan; for what you did to me!"

Itachi sighed solemnly. "Yes I do. But there's a lot more going on than you understand. Things aren't always what they look like."

"What is there to understand? You massacred out entire clan in their sleep! Our aunts, our uncles, our cousins… our parents! As far as I'm concerned, you killed yourself too." Sasuke replied as he clenched his jaw tightly. "And for what? To test your strength? Your own ego drove you to kill our family!"

"Do you really think it that simple Sasuke? Do you really think that I would kill our family because I wanted to test my strength? I didn't need to kill them to prove that. There were… things Sasuke. Things that I didn't want you to know back then." Itachi explained with some hesitation. For the first time since he had ever known him, Sasuke thought it strange to see Itachi seemingly have difficulty to grasp the right words.

Sasuke listened carefully, but his face clearly showed that he didn't believe a word Itachi was telling him. "I don't care about your reasons. Nothing justifies what you did!"

"Forget your vengeance Sasuke." Itachi spoke plainly.

"How can you even say something like that? You laid out this path for one single thing! To destroy you! How dare you try to tell me now to forget my vengeance! There is nothing else but to kill you!" Sasuke shouted angrily as a single tear fell from his eye.

Itachi sighed deeply before speaking again. "So simple-minded still. You took that moment and never thought to question it. You are a failure, my failure.

"A failure? A FAILURE?" Sasuke screamed as his sense of self-control was starting to fail.

"Yes, Sasuke. You are my failure, but I have another chance with you. I need you to get my eyes. You need the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan if at the very least, you might have a chance of defending yourself if he comes for you." Itachi explained.

"I won't walk your path! I am powerful enough to kill you already! I've spent the last six years doing nothing but seeking the means to your death! Now enough talking! Prepare to meet the fate that you have made for yourself!" Sasuke shouted as he readied himself to attack.

"Hmph." Itachi scoffed with closed eyes. "I guess I have no other choice than to do it for you. To think that all you needed to do was kill that that Jinchuuriki Naruto when you had the chance. Strange that fate made him the one that meant so much to you. You couldn't even begin to understand how killing him back then would have changed the world." Itachi paused to read Sasuke's expression. Clearly, his little brother had only one thing on his mind and at this observation, Itachi scoffed again. "So be it. Let me show you how you are still little more than a child to me."

"You… You… I'll kill you!" Sasuke shouted as he abandoned all sense of discipline and launched himself toward his brother with blade drawn! "DIE!" he shouted as he swung at his motionless brother and cleaved clean through the body that only spread out into a murder of crows that dispersed throughout the area.

From somewhere among the flock of birds, came Itachi's voice. "I told you before. You can't stand against me. Not yet anyway."

"Quit fucking with me!!" Shouted Sasuke angrily as he swung blindly at the birds flying through the clearing. "**Chidori Nagashi**" Sasuke shouted as a wave of electrical current spread from his body causing several of the birds to dissipate.

As soon as the current dispersed, a voice arose from behind Sasuke. "Still not enough." Spoke Itachi as Sasuke spun around on his heal and delivered a strike toward Itachi's chest. The attack was stopped short as Itachi grabbed Sasuke's wrist and caught Sasuke within his gaze; the gaze of the Tsukuyomi.

As Sasuke found himself in the familiar red dreamscape of Tsukuyomi, he spoke with a wicked smirk. "I've broken your genjutsu before. What do you plan to achieve by trying again?

"Just this." Itachi's voice spoke as out of nowhere as Itachi appeared right in front of Sasuke and landed an open palm on Sasuke's forehead.

"AAAGGHH!" Sasuke screamed as his head was filled with a stabbing pain that shot through his eyes and into his mind! Not a second later, the illusion fell as he found himself paralyzed by Itachi's grasp!

"I needed to get inside your head to do what is necessary and you jumped in with both feet." Itachi spoke as he pressed his bloody palm against his little brother's forehead! "Now that you have my eyes, you have a real chance. If only you had the clarity of mind to understand why I'm doing this." He spoke as he released his hold on Sasuke who fell to the ground screaming and grabbing at his clenched eyes. Itachi also nearly collapsed as the jutsu had nearly taken him to his own limit. "Think about why I hvae given this to you and find me again brother when you are really ready. Don't fail me again." Itachi spoke as he disappeared in a murder of crows.

"AAAHHHHH!" Sasuke screamed as the pain continued to pulse through his head!

"ITACHI!!"

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Nearly two weeks had passed since Naruto's return to Konoha. Already he had gone through Tsunade's impromptu Chuunin Exams and he had already been granted the rank of Chuunin after leading a couple of minor B-rank missions with randomly selected Genin shinobi under his lead. Neji followed at a distance to evaluate Naruto's leadership skills. While Naruto still took the initiative in combat situations, the missions were accomplished without flaw and his team had accomplished the missions unscathed. Not only did Naruto demonstrate his leadership capabilities, but he also showed himself to be an exceptional teacher as he spent a great deal of the traveling time to teach his teammates the ways of the shinobi.

Finally he was given the clear by Tsunade to investigate Akatsuki's whereabouts with a new team. A team who's soul purpose was for Akatsuki related missions. The team was named Hakumei, meaning Twilight or Dusk. The name was as an opposite to Akatsuki's meaning of dawn or daybreak. The name was chosen by none other than Naruto himself. The inclusion of Naruto on the team of course was extremely controversial as every elder in the village demanded that Tsunade not put Naruto in harm's way from Akatsuki. Even Tsunade herself openly stated that she disagreed with the decision, but Naruto would not take no for an answer and threatened to go out alone if he wasn't made a member of the team. Faced with no other alternative, he was made the fifth member of the special team that also included the likes of Yamato, Sakura, Neji, and Shikamaru. The team was branded with a special tattoo of the Kanji for twilight surrounded by a thorned wreathe with five large spikes representing the five menbers of the squad. That tattoo was places just below and to the side of the neckline, to the side of the armpit. The squad was given the authority to occomplish their goals by using almost any means neccassary. That tattoo was a mark of clearance that made it clear to all that whatever they were up to, was beyond question. It had become clear to Tsunade that in order to combat Akatsuki, they were going to have to fight fire with fire.

Finally, a rumor had reached Tsunade's desk that Uchiha Sasuke had traveled recently through the borders of the Fire Country. These days it seemed almost as if nothing in Konoha went without Naruto's notice and of course, he jumped at the chance to mobilize Team Hakumei. Of course the priority of Team Hakumei was to investigate Akatsuki related occurrences, but the probability that Sasuke would somehow lead to information on Akatsuki was great.

All that was really known about Akatsuki was that they made a base of operations out of the Hidden Rain Village and making a move on their home turf was far too dangerous. Many times Naruto had tried to push for a move against the Hidden Rain Village, but his entire team and Tsunade would have none of it. That would bring about a full-scale war against a nation lead by Akatsuki's own leadership. Deep down, even Naruto knew that a move against Akatsuki on their home turf would be a fool's errand and would most likely only end up with their deaths. Konoha wasn't even entirely sure if Akatsuki had bolstered its ranks in the last three years since Naruto left for Myouboku Mountain and knowing that Akatsuko had posession of at least six Bijuu, made the Rain Village a major threat.

Little of this mattered to Naruto however. Where he saw opportunity, he seized it. Not only would this mission grant him a chance to investigate Akatsuki, it also afforded him the chance of bringing his old friend Sasuke back home.

"C'mon Naruto. You know as well as me that the likelihood of Sasuke returning to Konoha is slim to nothing." Shikamaru stated as he puffed on his cigarette.

"I know Shikamaru, but I can't go back on my word." Naruto replied. "It's my…"

"Yeah yeah. It's your way of the ninja." Shikamaru sighed as he interrupted Naruto. "I know that as much as anyone. Look Naruto, I want to bring Sasuke back as much as anyone, but you have to face facts. In the eyes of anyone that wasn't as close to him as you were, he is a traitor to Konoha and a backstabber to his friends."

"Don't you…" Naruto snapped before being cut off by Shikamaru again.

"Tell me Naruto! Why are you really doing this anyway?" Shikamaru shouted back as he stared directly into Naruto's seemingly confused eyes. "Why do you want him back? And while you think about that, who do you even think you are trying to bring back anymore? You know damn well that the Sasuke that is out there somewhere isn't Sasuke from Team Kakashi. So why are you still bent on this? Are you doing this out of obligation to your way? Is that it Naruto?"

"I…I…" Naruto stammered as his deep-blue eyes quivered while he tried to find an answer.

"Even if we somehow manage to bring him back to Konoha, he will be thrown in a cell before he even steps through the gates for what he did. So what are you really doing this for?"

"I'm doing it to save my friend!" Naruto snapped back. "I can save him! I know that I can! I have to otherwise…" Naruto paused and looked at the ground while he searched for the words. "Look Shikamaru! I have to know that I can do this or everything I've been working for will mean nothing. I'm not just trying to bring Sasuke back. I'm trying to save him from himself before he gets completely consumed by the life that he's chosen for himself. I don't care if you or the rest of the team is with me or not, but I will find a way. I have to find a way."

Shikamaru could see the determination in Naruto's eyes and it was plain to see that it would be pointless to carry on this conversation anymore. He took a last puff of his cigarette before dropping and snuffing it out on the ground with his foot. "What a pain you are Naruto. Well I guess I have no choice but to help you out, no matter what happens." Shikamaru's smile wasn't returned by Naruto but the change in his face was one of acceptance and that was good enough for Shikamaru. "Well then, I suppose the rest of the team is waiting for us at the gates. I guess we should catch up eh?"

The two nodded and headed off toward the gates when suddenly Shikamaru spoke up. "Say Naruto, why aren't you wearing that long coat that the toads made for you?"

Naruto dropped his eyes and hesitated to answer. "Umm… I just can't wear that coat yet."

"Why not? They made it for you to wear. Surely that if the toads figured you worthy of wearing that coat, then you have surely proven yourself." Shikamaru remarked as they slowed slightly.

Once again, Naruto hesitated to answer. "They gave me that coat as sort of a tribute to my father. I just… I don't…" Naruto had difficulty trying to find the words to explain why he couldn't bring himself to explain why he refused to wear the jacket given to him by the toads.

Shikamaru could see Naruto's difficulty trying to answer. In fact he could swear that he saw Naruto trying to hold back a tear so he tried to end the discussion. "Don't worry about it Naruto. It's none of my business."

"No, it's ok Shikamaru." Naruto answered. "One day when I have proven to myself that I am worthy of that kind of honor, I will wear that coat everywhere and I will do so with pride. Until then, it's going to stay hanging."

Moments later, they reached the rest of Team Hakumei. Yamato, Sakura, and Neji had already been there for some time waiting for Shikamaru and Naruto arrive.

"Aay! So you two finally decide to show up eh?" Yamato shouted with a wave. "I guess that's what I would expect from you Shikamaru, but you Naruto? You the energetic one always so eager to get on the move?"

"Heh. Yeah, I'm sorry. It won't happen again. Just having a conversation with Shikamaru and lost track of time I guess." Naruto answered somewhat bashfully.

"Naruto! How dare you keep us waiting?" Sakura piped up almost angrily.

Yamato interrupted before he had to listen to more apologies. "Bah. Calm down Sakura. It's nothing worth fretting about. Let it go."

Deep down inside, Naruto was extremely conflicted. As much control as he had gained over his emotions, he knew about the kind of tragedy that could result if he failed. To say that he was worried would have been a severe understatement. This was only compounded by the fact that only Neji knew about it and the rest of the team had no clue. Most of all was Yamato. Images of the incident against Orochimaru at the bridge so many years ago flashed through his mind when Yamato told him to not rely on the Kyuubi for power. Not only that, but if it had not been for Yamato's ability to suppress the Kyuubi, he could have very well killed his teammates. He knew that he had to tell Yamato about what he had done, but he couldn't bring himself to tell him now. Who knew what would happen if Yamato tried to suppress the Kyuubi within Naruto now that the demon was a part of Naruto rather than a sealed entity?

"We should be going now before any trails go cold." Neji spoke in his usual cold demeanor.

With those words, the team setout from the gates of Konoha.

At the other end of town, Tsunade stood on the balcony of Hokage tower watching as Team Hakumei departed. "Please come back safe you guys." She turned back toward her desk as the team went out of view and caught a glimpse of the picture of the original Team Kakashi. A tear rolled down her cheek as she hoped that the terrible feeling in her stomack was ill-founded.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

The next day as the team neared the location that was given as the Sasuke sighting, the team was called to attention at Neji's word.

"Someone is following us. They've been following us for only a few moments, but the fact that they are able to keep up with us at this pace is beyond question. Whoever is behind us, is a shinobi." Neji spoke out to the team as silently as he could.

Yamato nodded and gave his orders. "On my word, we break off. Neji and Sakura, you break off to the right and circle back around. Neji will monitor the situation and keep Sakura out of range of harm's way if need be. I will break off to the left and do the same. Shikamaru and Naruto, as you two are the only ones that won't be able to track anyone else, you two will continue straight ahead for another twenty seconds before turning around and double back from where we are currently headed. You all have the seeds I gave you this morning and have eaten them. If anything happens before we meet back up, signal me with the seeds and I will head straight for your position. Naruto and Shikamaru, you two will be the first to encounter our pursuer. Don't do anything rash and only engage the enemy if they make a hostile move against you. Is that understood?" The entire team responded with a definitive nod. "That goes double for you Naruto. Do you understand? Do NOT engage unless you are attacked first."

"Don't worry about me Captain Yamato. I'm not quite the hothead I used to be." Naruto responded plainly. He was almost insulted at the extra comment added by Yamato, but he brushed it off knowing how he used to be and didn't hold anything against their leader.

Satisfied with the response, Yamato nodded and got ready to give the command. "Ok Team Hakumei. It's time to do what we are here to do. Break now!"

With that, the other three team members broke formation and jumped off to the sides of their path. As instructed, Naruto and Shikamaru continued straight ahead. In his head, Naruto was counting the seconds before Shikamaru broke the silence. "You ready Naruto? Lets go." With that, the two landed firmly on the next branch and jumped back toward where they had just traveled.

It wasn't more than another ten seconds before Naruto suddenly felt something coming from ahead. _"What the… What is this? I could never sense chakra before. Must be a result of the fusion."_ He thought to himself before he explained to Shikamaru. "I think I can sense the person ahead of us. I can't get a specific lock on them, but I can tell that they are headed toward us very fast. I think it's only one person though."

"Eh? I didn't know you could sense chakra Naruto. Is that something that the toads taught you?" Shikamaru asked.

"I didn't know I could do it either." Naruto answered with a smile when suddenly his face changed drastically to one of shock or even fear.

"What is it Naruto?" Shikamaru asked with a puzzled look on his face. _"Did he just pick something else up?"_

Naruto's thoughts were almost all confused at the realization of this new ability when the presence that had brought about the change in his expression came clear as they came closer to their target. _"This chakra… It's so… familiar. THE SHARINGAN!? How? How can I?" _His mind raced as he tried to figure how he would be able to recognize such a chakra as he had never been able to sense the chakra of others before when it dawned on him. He remembered Gamabunta's story about the origins of the Sharingan being rooted to the Kyuubi as well as the incident with Sasuke where the Kyuubi spoke about the sinister chakra of the Sharingan and figured that this must be why he could identify the source. _"Sasuke!"_

"I'm sorry Shikamaru." With this, he gritted his teeth and dug deep into the next branch before launching himself clear out of Shikamaru's sight with a gigantic leap. A sense of shame and guilt fell over him as he knew that he had betrayed the word that he had just given to his team. _"I'm sorry guys. I have to see for myself." _He thought to himself.

"Agh! Damn you Naruto!" Shikamaru grunted as he tried his best to try and catch up to his now gone partner.

In mid-flight, Naruto bit his finger and spread blood on his right palm as he formed the needed seals and uttered the words, **"Summoning Jutsu: Uzumaki Demon Fox Fangs." **Just as he did, with a puff of smoke the scabbard and swords appeared in his grasp. He wasted no time to sling the scabbard over his right shoulder as his hands and legs were blanketed in the mystical armor of the Demon Fangs. _"You won't get the jump on me this time Sasuke."_ He thought as he pulled his swords from the scabbard and readied himself for defense. He could sense that he was getting very close to his opponent when he leapt down from the next branch toward the ground at an amazing speed. He grabbed hold of the next tree in front of himself by digging his blades into the trunk and used the grip to swing his feet onto the tree. It wasn't a fraction of a second later before he launched himself off the tree toward their pursuer with such force that the tree trunk shattered and caused the tree to give away.

In the distance, he could see a very faint outline of his pursuer and judged by his trajectory which branch he was going to land on next. He slipped Rekka back into the scabbard as he charged Arashi and sliced cleanly through the branch that he had guessed his pursuer would land on. Before the branch even gave away, he reached out his hand and grabbed hold of the tree trunk with an outstretched demonic, red hand. He used the trunk to swing back around to the far side of the tree from his pursuer. Just as predicted, his pursuer landed on the branch just as it started to slide away and lost his footing.

"_Got ya." _Naruto thought as he swung back around the tree and launched a kick to the person's midsection before he was able to regain any footing. The kick landed squarely on a black and red robe. "ITACHI!" Naruto shouted as he realized that he had forgotten completely about Sasuke's brother being another bearer of the Sharingan. Before he even caught sight of the pursuer's face, the other name ran through his mind. _"MADARA!"_

As the kick landed, the body bearing the black and red robe went hurdling straight back before dissipating into a murder of crows before impacting the tree behind him.

"Itachi!" Naruto shouted again as he reached out again with his demonic grasp and grabbed hold of the tree that he had just attacked from and swung back around to land on the tree trunk once again. His grip was so tight that the bark of the tree was completely shredded from the tree as he swung around, showering Naruto in a rain of shredded bark. Just as he regained his own footing, he caught sight of the one thing that he has trained himself to avoid. Amongst the flock of crows flying all around, he made contact with the gaze of the Mangekyou Sharingan!

Just as Naruto fell victim to Itachi's gaze, Itachi reformed his body, grabbed hold of Naruto's arms, and spoke quietly. "Finally, I have you."

Naruto gritted his teeth in anger and stared Itachi straight in the eyes as he spoke back. "So you have me. Now what Akatsuki bastard?" Just as Naruto met the gaze of the Mangekyou Sharingan as it began to spin, something happened. The red color of the Rekka blade in the scabbard began to fade as did the inscriptions on his armor. Itachi stopped his Tsukuyomi genjutsu in time to notice the scowl on Naruto's face shift into a wicked grin.

Just then, a pair of straight-edged blades pierced straight through Itachi's shoulders. "So you have me do you? Wrong!" It was the real Naruto attacking from behind Itachi!

Itachi's eyes grew wide in disbelief as he looked down at the blades that began to glow red and blue! Itachi looked back up at the person he believed to be Naruto before his victim laughed. "Never assume that I am in front of you! You fail"

Itachi coughed up blood before muttering, "Naruto, you don't understand."

With these words, the apparent real Naruto shoved the blades further through Itachi's chest, through his own clone, and into the tree! With Itachi nailed to the tree facing forward, Naruto quickly let go of the blades and grabbed hold of Itachi's hands and pulled them tight behind Itachi's back! Itachi let out a bloodcurdling scream before Naruto spoke again. "Now, who has who exactly? You are supposed to be so great, and I got you so easily. What a disappointment."

"You would do well to heed your own words Naruto." Itachi spoke back. With these words, Itachi's body disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Itachi!" Naruto shouted as he grabbed hold of his swords and pulled them from the tree again. He planted his feet on the tree and spun around, careful of where he placed his gaze. He didn't see Itachi anywhere! "Come out coward! There's no place to run. The rest of my team is converging on my point as we speak!" Barely finishing his words, he looked up further on the tree and saw the black and red robe of the Akatsuki. "Found you."

"Who said I was hiding?" Itachi responded and with a flick of his finger, Naruto was grabbed by the shoulders by two Itachi clones. In a blur of motion, Itachi ran down the tree and grabbed hold of Naruto's head and stared straight into his eyes with the iris of the Mangekyou Sharingan already spinning. "It's too late to get away this time Naruto."

Almost before he even heard the last of Itachi's words, Naruto opened his eyes to see a barren black wasteland covered by a blood-red sky. Standing right in front of him, was none other than Uchiha Itachi.

"As I said before, I finally have you."

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

**OK. That's that, Chapter 13. Once again, I apologize for how long it took me to finish this chapter. I've got a lot on my plate right now and the time I have for writing is so limited that I wasn't sure if I'd ever finish this one, much the rest of the story. I've already got a start on the next chapter so hopefully it won't be quite so long for the next chapter. As always, please give me some reviews. **


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